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1
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1
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6
MICROCOfY RISOLUTION TiST CHART
(ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No 2)
^ APPUSn IIVMGE Inc
S^ '653 Eost Main Street
FS Rochester, Ne* York 14609 USA
'JSS (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone
S^ (716) 288-5989 - Fo»
WHEN THE WORLD SHOOK
Wwks by H. Rider Haggard
ruuMuiiynn unit-toot
rouricti. Himtr
CM«nj« —i ku WUU aiKkbnn
.J!!?I'*. '* '""""Uit. couHnr un. amb toeioun
*"™**»'"- I '"""—-- i„
Mm 0^ Ttifti
A Wlatar nittUuiik
tOMAtOU
mmi Qiwiwt v.a
n« PMjte ox ihalUit,
MBUfl
Wirio.
>k< WarM'i Sariia. ^
ten**-'
nauSIfKlua
naXstrnewar.
»M Xverj Qkud.
When the World Shook
fcing .„ Acc„„„ rt, Or«. Adve„,ur<,
of Basfn, Bickley a„d Arbuthnot
BY
H. RIDER HAGGARD
CASSELL AND COMPANY. LTD
London. New York. Toronto and Melbourne
^ I
/■
1031^53^
Fim puUnhed 1919
/
C^EDICATION
More than thirly years aa.
'«o/.r«. "'■<?« '^nd. tnadcntally. revealed their
Although for ih,;,
---^.^Z. issue 0/ any ;:ZC''T:- ''''''■ ^'^'^^'""
avatls. 0 "' '« the end xt is the intenHon thut
'hJ!ZZ. Z T^'CZT' ' "'' ""' '" "-^^
-"-«- in the intervals o/yZt^- f '""* '"' ^'^^^ »/
^A« application .r : ^ ^"^Penal wo.-L ''
)■««' rf«.:«^«w.«^. «'"«/ « 0/ the moon~I leave to
Belitve me.
Ever sincerely yours,
'^'tchmghm, igta,
f '"' ^-^ Cur^on Of Kedleston. K.G,
CONTENT^,
'• ^•'^''""'OT DEsr„,aHr Himself
2 Bastin and Bjcklev .
3 Natalie
4- Death and Departure
5- The Cvclonb
6. Land
7- The Oroi-enans .
9. The Island in the Lake
10. The Dwellers m the To„b .' '
II Resurrection
12- Two Hundred ami Fiptv t«« .
n Oro «:„. Thousand Years
'■ °''° ^"^^«« ^^'« Bastin Argues
14. The Under.world . . '
^5. Oro in his House . * " "
16. Visions of the Past . " '
17. VvA Explains . . ' " '
IS. The Accident " '
:: 0'" '"'"'™-" - ««™ -■. B,c„„ •
rtoB
I
12
34
46
58
72
97
IIO
123
137
153
166
179
188
200
215
230
241
viii
Contents
CHAPTEK
21. Love's Eternal Altar
22. The Command
23- In the Temple of Fate
24. The Chariot of the Pit
25. Sacrifice .
26. Tommy
27. Bastin Discovers a Resemblance
Note by j. r. Bickley, M.R.CS.
PAGB
260
271
282
297
327
339
346
WHEN THE WORLD SHOOK
CHAPTER I
ARBUTHNOT DESCRIBES HIMSELF
thffioVl\'Aicfefe ifj?"''"'°i' «^°"W begin
prominent a part, with som^.'^lf "^"^^^ '"e to play^o
and of my circumstances '''°" ^'^'=°""' ofm/seTf
villagr^'SLTw^rite" bft '" '^■'' ^-y Devonshire
Now I live in the Priorv » ' "°* '" the same hou^
•n its way, with L pSed ^j;,^,"'? '^ ^^'J « 6"^ "ne
where m this mild climaleT«H^»^^"''^"' «*'*"«
flourish so many plante wh rh ^ ^^'"on to our own
find .n countries tha'iS nearer ^"^hr"^'^ °"'y «P«^"o
undulatmg park studded wTh '°^tMmK ^"^ '^S>^«".
vew, too, is perfect • hohin^ f ^ timber trees. The
shire landscape's S Mls'^d'S ** *''V'^'> ^evon!
faces of red sandstone, and at fdi Jf ^ • ^?*^ '^^ scarped
There are little towns mnV„ '''Stance in front, the sea
jnost part on visUo«,'b^uT hese"rl°^ t^'/'^^ ^o r ^e
the contours of the ir3n^ <1 *? ^ hidden awav bv
.^jfnnot see them ffl fs fe. ^'"L*^« Priory^on^
Jhoi.DTh f^, „u-.... ^"cn 'sjulcombe where I live.
am, after whn™ „i-l
Ark .1-^ ^^^"^ ago my father fhTo "*/^' name.
Arbuthnot, whose^on? child I j^* ^/^- Humphrey
1 am named Humohrev J:fol ^'"' ^^'^r whom also
"'hich our fami^^^rsYaiJtnh'/''''^^^'^ place wffi
hereditan^ conn,^tion If VTr™" '^'^'' vague
so, it was severed in the
2 When the World Shook
S^Pariramrn^ '^*^"'' "^ ^"''''°''" ^°"&'" °" ^he side
motS- ^!'^^' r^ " '^'''"^^' ^"<^ * widower, for my
Wrfh 'r»-^''°*''^°'"^'?' ^'^'^ «t or shortly after my
wa^ no. "^ r'^ ^ish Church for those days^e
was not popular with the family that owned the
Pnory before me. Indeed its head, a somewhat vulSr
per«.n of the name of Enfield who had made money fn
JctoriXhe's' '""' "^^"^^^ '^' ^^^ ~ of tS
n,-!""^"^'"" ^^'^ f?" ^^"^ owing to it as a boy I
made up my mmd that one day I would buy that okce
and sit m h.s seat, a wild enough idea at the^t me ^Yet
yourTnd"T'"t^ '" ™'' ^ '^^ «"^h aspiratSof ou
youth and when the opportunity arose in after vears I
carried .t out. Poor old Enfield I He feH o^n evi
fortunes, for m trying to bolster up a faVourite s^n who
ZfU^ ^^'^^u"' ^ spendthrift, and an ungrSucamp
n the end he was practically ruined and when the bid
.mes came, was forced to sdl the FulconTbe "sta?e I
for't.i:UnThe"r1vrr.^ '^^'^ ^'"^'^^ ^^' '-- ^o^^
much beloved, although he di^d prlc isT^confeliof
wireveTS' toi""' "^'^^? •""^'^ - the'Xr'and
Zhthl u ^^''^ °Pe"'y expressed the wish, to
which however he never attained, that he couW^e ^
censer swinging in the chancel.' Indeed ^he church
which, as monks built it is verv larcr« o„J c cnurcn
always full on Sundays VouS^UnTof he w"o';shT
pers came from far away, some of them douMeTsout of
curiosity because of its papistical repute, ago beSse
goodSed. '"'""' ""' ''''''''' P--^'"^ -rv"e";
Hil^rh^^KP^-* ^ ^*^l **^^* I owe much to these
High-Church views. They opened certain doors to
me and taught me something of the mysteries S lie
Arbuthnot Describes Himself 3
Only the pity is^hat in^?n..^ ^"^ '«''gio"s are bom.
drecf he nVer discovers „2;r'"' '^"^ °"' °^ ^ ''""-
entombed aspiratbn never J^L^\«,"^^^^ «' 'hat
^'^'V^-'buLr^edoSv^^nVoS^^' '°"" °" ^°
mili d'Son for'n^etf didTJ'^^^ ^'^^ ^'« ^ «
learned. He was one o7tL« ''"°^ ^"y°"« 1"ite so
round that he belme nrUmw!?f " '"'^ V' «> S<^ all
of the first water rvi^y1eTe^?lh{l"°'''i"^- A lassie
expert in theology, a studenf nf f '"^'''^^'atician. an
guages and literature hihSL° ^""'^'y ^°^«'&» 'an-
into sociology, a theoreti^S!'^*""^"*^' ^" '"qui^r
ing of the og^n excrudS mnc""^" ^''°."S^^ his play-
too correct, f reaHy Sfa.« ».'t^°?'' ^*^"^ '» wis
struments and the best erotfr nf 5°T "P°" «'"' '"-
the county, also of atfD^^s.?rh^ ''^" vegetables in
attainments. Tharwa^ ^^ \,^*^. ^""^ °( his
popular, since at tSiesone^rlJ^^K^ hs sermons so
would break ou nTo them h ? th"'*"" "J ^^^^ ^"hjects
abii?t.?s.''/s&d n°ev?yot '^ ^ °[ '"^^ ^^^^er's
describe them. And yet Z'rk !hZ°t^.!^^^ ^ ^°°^ '°
name is as dead to the woriH tn!^ ' ^'\ ^^^"^ ^" his
never been. Ligh° refleS f rn^ ^u^^ i''°"fi^h he had
sipates itself in IJLe a„?t E-^hatl''^ '"'^^'^'^'^
°"No;Tam"^ -y pierces To'the'siafs.""""'"*^'' '"
outSkn:s'^SyS,eMrufof''°",; '">'""' ^^ -'h-
Then it becomes simpTy InotLr f ''' ^ '■''°''* ^ 'his?
conventional method^S^pressin, ?hT"l'°"' °' --^^her
truths with which the hfXv^ , :f • ^ <^toroon kind of
selves, as fastidious ladfes^eatS '^A^'"^ *''«'"-
which all but the smaK nfrtlr^ ^f ^"^.h«ad from
been extracted. Partide of nourishment has
fathi?! aWlit%s,'t"irhfs?oi'f "i^' '^'^^^ o^ ">y
Which always bored mTto'^ktLt Su^^S^
4 When the World Shook
SSsW ^"r^f±''°° "^'y '^'^ "~' ''""''n of things,
som^ow to me they never convey any idea of humanitv
Ss^SS^^lt^-^ ^t '"H« have become an ^rch-
aR hf ^ ° ^^1% "'*' ^'"'' °^ ^ unknown parish,
be^flt. ? * ^'1"H?' *"*' "ayJ^ap mystical would
Ifi^S-MShS^thSSe/^
mwmm
is a plank made ofTanv ^4 of w^ "^ V^"" '^' !*
our diflferent weights^ ^ °°*'' '^'''^PS *« suit
fathi° s%S;ir.i;d" ? s>w th^t'r "^^f *°- ^ '"^
wh«* m«ed well with his o^SpfbSuTfhe
Arbuthnot Describes Himself 5
owr? Thtt • u ^■'"*^^' "*v<='" "ses the same t>^ice
and hell. ^ "'^ ''*'* ''^^^ ^« symbolise as heaven
extremely handsome womln T ,^ ^rn ™1k 'i^.f "
S and oJ^ ""'^ -r-^ful^astytvTSf KutdS^
K? ITand al"^ ^*" ''"^''^^"^ «''^«"t"™ that Se
the"L«rs of U?e de^^'t''"^ "^''^ ^'^'''^°^^ ^hom
- ^rom^blclSl^^iC.TorThrfesTiea"^^^
K^d mc^r^i^lT'/XV' tLI 1°"^ ''^'
at last I wpnf Jo^rJi-i ^°°°'^- T"'^ *^s shown when
did very Sind^°d'^f!J"\^ scholarship, for there I
very wen mdeed, as search would still reveal.
i
6 When the World Shook
means a lack of fai h a^.Tn P^'^^'^'^nce, which really
and wider sense For^f using the word in its hiS
always peri've^' fc^rfhaMn'f '"''' T -°"'d
tairen with high aim Thefe t\ '" T^'^ ^o^'' ""der-
however humffip JnT . '^. ^" element of nobilitv
to be. Go^it'all is"tr&„Vfe* V'^ -«/«"-
large upon the face of 'he UnivtrsI l°\'' '* ^"""^^
upon the thoua-hf it w«,,m ? 5 * ^ ^'" "o* expand
those who have undersundfni'^^r.! '°° ^^' afieldfbut
As regards whaflSpit^ f»«-H* ^''"^ ^ •"^"•
not very easy to exDre.!." Si I ^ fastidiousness, this is
I arn liL a ?;,?„ wR ^,1'^P'J definition will heV
who when walking throuXa fol J^W ^t''^ °^ smell,
and well kept, caf aD cTtch fu- ' ^' ^°'^''^^' *='^«"
inseparable from such chleT MoS. *h'' f^^°"" '^^^ *'«
of them interferes with a . othVi^' ^'^ ^^^" Perception
his walks. The result is that in ^/fJ-'P"""" ^"^^ io"s
he thinks of that beU'iful ciTv ^''' ^"^''V*''''"^
Its historic buildings or ite wide h«„i ^members, not
« has to boast, but rathir t« ''"H'^^a'-^s, or whatever
At least he remembers th« fiSt^"^f"^ fi^^Tlike smell.
his temperament. "* °*'"& ^ this defect in
spoSd L"suc"h'a onT^'clu!; st '""^'^ "°-- -
has too high a voice" hr^snS/**^*°° '""'=h or
{ng because the sceAery Irflat 'f f '°'L-'''' ^^oot-
because the gnats bite as well Jlk J ^°' ^'^ Ashing
's cut of tunf with thi worid as it 1' 'T' ^" ^^°« ^f
a quality which, where it existe LLJu'^"^'' **>« "'s
fstSSfcr - -" - S^^aT!^-/;
pers^e^ttS, trrSoVti'Xt^-,^ ^-'*- '-'^ of
case. At least on lea^np col£ JS k^* """^ '^'«' '" my
' i
Arbuthnot Describes Himself ^
work, I began very well J^J'"''"'"'^ «"d ^wers of
•ny first yei. T^en "' ^"h^^ """"^y even during
came my way and ml fJL *'f'?P*'"«^' « certain caJ?
it was ojened, was 1?/^ n JfJ h''"'J?« i'l suddenly aft^
cause I '^as pleading wa" ^ tu^^' ^^^. nian whose
scoundrels itTs possillHo cLce "«' Tw^ '^^ ^l^^"''
and if he won, the effect wni.iH I I' **^ * ^i" case
estimable middle^S "omen wh' *° '''^[gar two most
to the p^ to^hich endpeto°na7vVr*'^ ^"•'•''«'
S^t^nTeS^i^S^.-'^e^Pe^^^^^^^^^
n^iddSkilTla'iJestere^taSd"^^ |\^ -"-ble
wards, driven to such exSft'es 'th«f .^ ^ .'"'2''' «^'«f-
pf her misery and the ^1^1 °"^. °^ *''«" d'ed
keeper The details do not mattS^h,? °^&i"&-house
that these ladies were una trSi' i^* ' ""^^ ^^P'^'"
manner and broke down benSth ,^v . *PP«^™nce and
which made them appear to h^^» ^r"*^?*""'"^*'""
whereas they were only comDlet.S '^'''"ff.falsehoods,
I invented an ineen o,.« ^f ^ S°"^"sed. Further
although the judge^^gardedS°^ '^'- ^^"^'^ ^^ich
an unusually stupid jury So 111/"'^'^'^"' convinced
, Everyboay conffrituTated nS J"^ *\^'^ ^^'^ict.
triumphant, espedtlfy' af^y"'!^"^ ^^ ^he time I was
our case was impossible. A temiri^'^ .f""'"^ ^''^t
conscience smote me soreW lo T! l^' ''P^ever, my
from the false premise of ThUK ^"'^'^ ^ '''^t arguing
conclusion that'^hTprart Le^f ^h!T'' ^ ^""^ «« the
o an honest man. I dYd not ike^r."""" "^' ="''«d
such matters average themsPlv« ^ l^'?« ^'^w that
done harm in this fnstS f "L^f ,?"*1 '^^' i^ I had
many others, and perhan7'bLZf •'''^ t^ do good in
great judge. Here^ I may mSoVt^f -^"^f"' ^^^^ «
when I grew rich, I rescued th^? ^^'" after years,
from her lodffinff-house S u surviving olcf lady
not know ili nfme of he anoSn^° ^'^'f •^'^^ «he doe^s ,
degrees, without saying^nS^!:^. 'lT± «<> ^7
^
hmg.
kept
on
my
« When the World Shook
authorship. ^ooay connected with me, and took to
ousluS' '^■r whSr^o^d ull*!?"^ ^-'^ «" "0"»-
journal, delighted to hate dfi? '*'''!?' °^ "• A leading
up; other journafs folfc^'Ko tf •°'"^°'"^' *"'« ^
One of them, I remembTr Jh/.K k i '? ""^ movement,
't with three or four fc„''''L^l'' ^'^''^^y dismissed
second and two-column nod^^ i?J:,ff^^ °"' *"»> a
J suppose had somo merhL f^r ; ^''' .'^ ""^S™ and
few know that I wro^^Vt jJ /^ '* «"" ™ad, though
lished under a pseudonym ' ^°«"nately it was pui
anofhfrani^al rSet'l ^ch^? ^^'^ '° -»«
jealousies had been excfted bv ?h^^, ^'" .^^- B"'
a totally unknown per«,„ wh'irL ^^^'"8^ '"'° ^^me of
tuated througi. a Ssh ar ?ri. ^k^' "l*""^"^"- ««en.
answer ,o some critSms wherpi^^l' ^ P"'"'shed in
with an insane freedomTnd bhinT J *P°''^ "V^ """d
was even mad enourh to ouote nfn,"^^?' ^"^^ed ^
example of the ver? twwerful .il^^^^ «"1 to give the
carped at my work and^Th^n ^°u'"'L=' which at first
became the 4hion aIi of "h.f ^"ifH °^" " ^^en it
enemies, as I found out when mv n^tfl "f ™^"y '''"er
It was torn to shreds Ttwa7revX''°°'' «PPeared.
morality and religion eood afr ^'^ *? subversive of
was called puerilef ha floated sTufr'" /^^ ^Z^''- ^^
More, an utterly false char^P !5 ,~\ balf^ducated I
"P against me and sTwellpfH P'^^mrism was cooked
numbers of people^Sided tha"t7°"''^ ™" '"« ^«
lowest order. Lastly, my fafher frL^u" *'«^ °^ the
could no longer be kem stlrnV a^ '^''°'" ^be secret
these books which I admit i"!^ disapproved of both
radcal and somewhat anH^hy^u '^"."«" ''om a very
Arbuthnot Describes Himself 9
?h^^L'""^'' ''"°"?*' ^^^' "" oaih which I have keot till
i^'» moment at least so far as publication is conce?nId
and now break only because I considi it my duty ^tl
do and am not animated by any pecuniary dbS? ^ *°
out a caree^r™Bv ZXfri ''"^^"^ ^"''^P' "^^^^'"e
ra^Vr^g^fjr.^ i tl^Tn-owT/^y^-elrT ''^i
sess considerable abilities in suX Erections I^L^
down as it were, to think things over and dSriynf^
experiences. Vhen it was that^he truth of a v/rv^nc^
^^^I'f ^ sufficient money I could laueh at uniuJ
^Sv'yre"toS/- '•"^'"'^ n °' ^''«'' P«P«=S wJuld
scarcely Jare to criticise me for fear lest it shonlrf h^ in
my power to do them a bad turn aS I coSi f Jn„„
my own ideas in life and perhapf work g^? if th^
trmtlve"s^o me '"if"'" »""0""Sings as ^^m'mended
hoT^ make°t?e mot;? ^" " ''^' ^ ^^^^''S'^'. ^ut-
I had some capital as the result of mv father's H»a»t.
had"h^^'^'" ^'1' P'"« '^ '•«'« "o"* fi my two hSks
|owiTra"%d^— Z^-;^^^^^^^^^
proMaSei^^^^^^^^^^ in the
perierdVtilisl^i^e'vou'mii^f"^^ ^^'^"j' '"-
that in a month f uTl ^ke youf couXf mT *''""
courage, and the truth is thar^do ^nf he P V^m
think It over and write to you." '^^ *'"
He thought it over and in the end offered tn t™ «,«
remained in my pocket. "^""wmie my ^5,000
I accepted, not without reluctance since with the
'0 When the World Shook
aid, as h a wav nU« /Ijj " college — came to my
is called hiffhEce R..r.h"'*'5 ^P'*'"*^« ^°' *»«'
showed meTfavSS face " "' '^°"""*' ''^ "»""'•
in the?a"rU'promfo/?h/r"'"'''P ^^'''^ " «'•"«" ""-are
in able ha^ds beJfn ?/ '^O"^'"' . satisfied that it was
On a certa n Saturdav LT^ L''?''* ^^"^^^ °"d ^o"-
why should I „M uke f, "K^y S? "' ""'*'
Also-and here m, business aiumen came in, I wis
Arbuthnot Describes Himself ii
sure that these times could not last. It is easy to make
money on a rising market, but when it is fallin^Se
matter .s very different. In five minutes I made up mj
?iro anH^foW ^f my junior partners, for I had taken in
mo, and told tliem that I intended to retire at once.
tne hrm, and b' cause, as they pointed out, if I withdrew
fhem'Jo carr on ''°"'** ' ^' '"'"''""' '"^' '° ""^^"^
One of them, a blunt and honest man, said to mv
face that .t would be dishonourable of me to do so ^
tVat iis' wo^ds wcTI^'e.'''" ^'"^ •■^' "^«" ''''"^'"''"^^
"Very well," I said, "I will leave you ;^6oo,ooo on
stJofthetrto ""' '^^ ^' centf intefest.'but Z
o S." lu^'^u'^Tl^ we dissolved the partnership and in
a year they had lost the ;^6oo,ooo. for the slump came
with a vengeance. It saved them, however, and to^ay
they are earning a reasonable income. But I have never
asked them for that £6oo,(xx}. "
CHAPTER II
BASTIN AND BICKLEV
Behold me once more a man without an occupation,
but now the possessor of about ;£ 900,000. It was a very
considerable fortune, if not a large one in England;
nothing like the millions of which I had dreamed, but
still enough. To make the most of it and to be sure
that It remained, I invested it very well, mostly in large
mortgages at four per cent, which, if the security is
good, do not depreciate in capital value. Never arain
did I touch a single speculative stock, who desired to
think no more about money. It was at this time that I
bought the Fulcombe property. It cost me about
^ 120,000 of my capital, or with alterations, repairs,
etc., say ^150,000, on which sum it may pay a nett two
and a half per cent., not more.
This .^^3,700 odd I have always devoted to the up-
keep of the place, which is llierefore in first-rate order.
1 he rest I live on, or save.
These arrangements, with the beautifying and
furnishing of the house and the restoration of the church
in memory of my father, occupied and amused me for a
year or so, but when they were finished time began to
han^ heavy on my hands. What was the use oi pos-
sessing about ;^20,ooo a year when there was nothine
upon which It could be .spent? For after all my own
wants were few an J simple and the acquisition of
valuable pictures and costly furniture is limited bv
space. '
Oh ! in imr small way I was like the weary Kine
Ecclesiast. For I too made me great works and had
possessions of great and small cattle (I tried farmine
and lost money over it I) and gathered me silver and eold
12 ^
Bastin and Bickley
13
and the peculiar treasure of kings, whiclj I presume
means whatever a man in authority chieAy desires, and
80. forth. But "behold all was vanity anid vexatiin of
spirit, and there was no profit under the sun."
deference which is the rich man's portion. csDCciallv
when the limit of his riches is norknown, T^ame
about that I too "hated life," and this when I was S
much over thirty. I did not know what to do; for
.-^I'^/L'*'^ '*°"* i' generally underetood, I had no
^1 1, A 1 J """' horse-racir.g and cards I loathed,
who had already gambled too mSch on a big scale. The
killing of creatures under the name of sport palled upon
me, indeed I began to doubt if it were right, whi'e the
fh.^ * ^""'•'"" *^°"1'y magistrate in a place where
there was no crime, only occupied me an hour or two a
month.
Ustly my neighbours were few and with all due
Sf««^^°.i''*"";.*'''''""f'y ^""- At least I could not
understand them because in them there did not seem tc
.ho^i^L ^"^ *° understand, and I am quite certain thai
teLT ""''""'aid me. More, when they came to
!t^ "5 LT't^/^'^'f*' '" "^y ^'»*s «"d had written cer-
tain dreadful "and somewhat socialistic books in the
form of fiction, they both feared and mistrusted me as an
enemy to their particular section of the race. As I had
not married and showed no inclination to do so. their
womenkind also, out of their intimate knowledge, pro-
claimed that I led an immoral life, though a fittle re-
flection would have shown them that there was no one
in the neighbourhood which for a time I seldom left,
who could possibly have tempted an educated creature
to such courses. v-'voimc
Terrible is the lot of a man who, while still youne
u ir-^^*' ,« m''"' 'u"-*^"'=" necessary to achievement,
is deprived of all ambition. And I had none at all. I
did not even wish to purchase a peerage or a baronetcy
in this fashion or in that, and, as in my father's case
my tastes were so many and so catholic that I could not
lose myself in any one of them. They never became
'4 When the World Shook
from myself. ^ ^^'^ ^ absolutely different
was'^h^lsffitiTnam!""''" ""^ ^''^'^'^y- B^^tin-Basil
flat-footed pe son of W?'^" "T."'''' ^hock-headed
rugged honestt wfth ^■' i"^^^^ ^^^"^ ^nd equally
Noting surpfsed',^f„\'r'"'' ^'P'^f incredibly shnplZ
surprisl. He wrifC.h.ft"^^''^ i^'^'^^'J the faculty of
botfom of Zll aS akes e"vtt St'^SfJt' ''''''
great maw without distinl..f=h-^ ^ ^^ ^<^ '"'o "s
phorically sDeaS ?f' "&V'shing .ts flavour. Meta-
bage wer^ Kh tmf ^0"^"^"' '^"^^^'^.'^ '^^^-
ous and both were menta Infif.? . ^^^ "°' ^^stidi-
with whatever lay bet^rnSr"^!^ '°"-*°?«her
was good, so pain^fully S hat onf f'T't ^« ^e
exertion to himself hi hrTu , °P^ ^"^^ *hat without
straight to Ken; 1n5eed tS't' ^'"'-^^^ '''^ket
had tied it round his neckt h- K^'^ guardian angel
it, already numbered and ^.hr,}^^' ^^. should lose
disc. ^ ^"^ ^^*ed like an identification
becaurh?ne"vtlelf tie 'JLSS'J "''^^^ "«"* -ong
This, I.suppose, c?nsSuteS^r?al vS'"-''" *°- '^^ ^«
of certain Bible savings th! ^fLl u' •®'"*'^' '" ^'^w
would like to yield to fhetPmnt^f "^^^ " ^^"'Pted and
with the perso^n wVo dtVS t"o 'h?.''"f ^ " ^'"""
should be too good to be temDt;H n,^^ truly good one
the effort worth the teSr'= ' ^ °° ^'^^'^ '« "'ake
deserving of his powder aTshot '"~'" ^'°« "^^
indJedr1e'^o%^l;''Cn^ -nt -0 the Church;
absorbed him naturallv « t ?. P^ anywhere else; it
due course. OnrnW^t^f^Sf'T. "'"^^" ^"' ^o in
know him he win bore the aSj''^* ""til they get to
Will continually move ^^ ^l^^^^ /,^- they
Bastin and Bickley
15
fhe^r'J'^2!'''"'''''-'"^*' P'^^^^^y he will tread upon
BiSf;^:-"'. -"- -;s "5E
or^,k u °' '^''"^'^ he remained totally unconsciouT
convincing argument however sound and
especially a theolotrica Itmat Thl smallest gnat,
♦hoVT ' ^ or handle. He was conv need, for instanrp
2sx^e^[t^^tihr^S^i^o£S
ce^Jf inf '"'*'°"V^ °^'J^ °"« '='>"i^' findltfthSrTdes"
certainly never did happen, and never will • ?hof n
rehgions are the fruit ofTum'an hope and far's and the
most convincing proof of human weakness- that nntwith
standing our infinite variations we are the subiec7s of
SuKaTcf '^" ^"' '""^ ^"^'- °^ b/ind,"b?icran1
Such was Bickley with his clever, well-cut face th«f
always remmded me of a cameo, and thoughtful brow
his strong, capable hands and his rathersfeelv nfn^fT'
the mere set of which suggested TOntroversv^f -
compromising kind. Natura ly ^ th^ Fhnth 1,"";
claimed BastTn, so medicine claimed Bickley '^ ^^'^
16 When the World Shook
as JSr o? FulcE'l?' '?'^" ^\° ^"«=««J«1 -"y father
away shortly S?e^^^ ^i «^'^^" « be«er living and v^nt
it thi advowi>r %^st at r 'diffi ^' p'"^^ ^'''^ ^S
written in the large sorawlino. I ^j'^fi ""'^^^ « better
I had not heard for yeare if «,^"f f ^^?''" ^'O'" ^hom
saying that he BastTn sl^ ^^"' straight to the point.
which was in my c^fT h/^ the living of Fulcombe
if I would givelf tf him « th °" '^ ^he-^tore be obliged
shire did ni IrlltlsZteVtStT ""' "^^ «^ '" ^-'^-
did no? iur];!^ Bti/'Sr/h'^ ' ^^^^^ ^^^ -hat
pretty. She was by na ur. f ^^ °'^^^'^'' ^^o was
inent so insanely fealoSlhat''tT^"„*'"i « ^^'"P*'^
to be suspicious of Kn ih ""u^"? ^^« manned
an unguarded moment inh" ^\^^^ captured^ in
thing %lse and IZlouUit^ 'k'"'''"^ °^ «"ne-
even looking at any wZan a.fh„^" ,^^1"" ^''^"ght of
Baal . As a mafter Jf^ct it i^lT°"''' °^ worshfpping
one female from another M , *"•" """^''s ^ knol
of subscription'arXs o? SeS-Ci-'^ ^^^'^^'^
had no interest for him. "'"^"^^ Meetmgs, women
menT°oS-i;^;*„l*fif "eraging honesty which I haye
disabilities, which he adrfTH"* °" 'P/"' ""' all his own
him unsuitable for the nu£fl' !r°H>d probably render
a High ChurSman a f?« whfch''''''',V° '^"- "« -as
many; he had no c alms to bein/^I'' "'1'^'"'^ "^^"d
he was extraordinarily wellarn..^ a preacher although
of the Early Fathers (WhT'"^^'^ ^''^ '^^ -ritinls
with the questionri woffiredS o'-'i ^^1 '^^' '« ^o
had generally been considered^ 2Z^^^ ^^^^^ ^-nd he
fondof walking (he mean to rnii ^°^ '"^''°'' ^nd was
but did not saf scj " °" distant parishioners,
the^exL"ting'Sm\T?h/"^ ^ ""^'^ °" the eyils of
private perl^nTending whhX%?4°"/° 'JT'^^^ "/
probably committed I sin in h,*^^*'?? ^''^t ' had
Bastin and Bickley
^7
Finf iL'^t.'* ^?^^' ''• * Po'"' O" which he was ignorant
f^iu K^uH'"^°'""'«^ ">«= 'hat as he had to christen a
i^A^l^ miles away on a certain moor and i was
TsSped "" '"^ "^^ '^'^ ^•'^y^'^' ^«^ ">"« «0P And
as flllows"'"'' ^°*^"«'-' " P-S- to the letter, which ran
ore s^rJetev^^ "° ^-^' '^« ^-
mose amuse pages. It was a lone while sinrp I haH
received an epistle which made me la^ so Sh and
of course I gave him the living by return of iS' anH
even mformed him that I would increas^ its s£d tn
a sum which I considered suitable to Te posi ion
BasdnThlT '^^^' ^^'"' \ ^^"'^«J anothefleSr from
Bastin which, as a scrawl on the flap of the envt 'ice
informed me, he had carnV«,d for a week in his L^k^et
and forgotten to post. Except by inference it reKd
no thanTcs for my intended benefit What did ^v
however, was that he thought it on^nf n^^^^ j, ^'
settled a matter of such spiritual imporfanceTn so erelt
a hurry, though he had observed tharfch men were
nearly always selfish where their time was concerned
Swr'as'trhf?'^''* ''''' I ""^''^ «^«t to have made
e?c " ete! P'""^"' character and attainments,
*hJi ^u'^ .^P'"^'^ ^ '^P''^'^ ^y telegraph to the effect
hat I should as soon think of making inquires aS
the character of an archangel, or that of one of his High
Church ^mts. This telegram, he told me afterward
he considered unseemly and even ribald, especiallv as
one^^f ?r"f''^' "^'"'^^ *° the postma'sterf who was
one of the sidesmen in his churchf
Thus It came about that I appointed the Rev Basil
Bastin to the living of Fulcomirfeeling sure that he
rmnJ'r'^' '"^ ^vth endless amusement and act al
a moral tonic and discipline. Also I appreciated the
i8 When the World Shook
man's blunt candour. In due course he arrived, and I
confess that after a few Sundays of experience I began
to have doubts as to the wisdom of my choice, gMifas
I was to see h.m personally. His ^rmons at once
bored me, and, when they did not send me to sleep!
excited m me a desire for debate. How could he R
profoundly acquainted with mysteries before which the
To hot or?"V"^'^ ^""l ^S^'' Was there nofhing
too hot or too heavy m the spiritual way for him to
dismiss in a few blundering and casual words,^ he
might any ordinary incident of every-day life, I won-
t i!n. '° V'- "^'^"^ ^}S^ Churcl. observances wi;^
not mine, or, I imagine, that of anybody else. But I
will not attempt to set it out. / / -^ oui i
His peculiarities, however, were easy to excuse and
entirely swallowed up by the innate goSnelof h"s
nature which soon made him beloved of everyone ?n the
place, for although he thought that probably most
things were sins, I never knew him to discover a sS
ness Bas';^"'"''''-^r 5^ ''^y°"<^ '"^^ '«««=h o7for|ive.
hTway^wide-SS"' ' "°^' '^'^"'^'''^ '"^^ ^^^^ '"
The person whom I could not tolerate, however, was
his wife, who, to my fancy, more resembled a v^s^l
a very unattractive vessel, full of vinegar than a woS*
2ndv"Sr^^"H?'' ""^■^•'^ was small, pfah^? flat,*
sandy-haired and odious, quite obsessed, moreover with
her jealousies of the Rev. Basil, at whom it pleased her
to suppose that every woman i^ the counryside under
fifty was throwing herself. "irysiae unaer
Here I will confess that to the best of my ability
I took care that they did in out,.ard seeming h2
IS, whenever she was present, instructing Tlfemto
sit aside with him in darkened corners, to fi -sent him
Tntn i7T' '"^ '? ^Z''^- several of'the.^ S fLu
into the humour of the thing, and I have seen him
depart from a dinner-party foHowed by S glower^n^
Sarah, with a handful of rosebuds and vio el To saf
nothing of the traditional oflferings of sSrs e«
broidered markers and the like, ^dl, it waTmy' onTy"
Bastin and Bickley 19
7^/.h K^'i'^f even with her, which I think she knew,
tor she hated me poisonously.
I u^ "^^'^^ ^°'" ^^*'' ^^'"'"- Now for Bickley. Him
Lh f.™^! °'' ^^''^'i*' occasions since our college days,
and after I was settled at the Priory from time to time I
asked him to stay with me. At length he came, and I
nnHn„°"' '')•' \^'^ "°' «' all Comfortable in his
London practice which was of a nature uncongenial to
him; further, that he did not get on with his partners
1 hen, after reflection, I made a suggestion to him. I
pointed out that, owing to its popularity amongst sea-
side visitors, the neighbourhood of Fulcombe was a
rising one, and that although there were doctors in it,
there was no really first-class surgeon for miles.
^«r, ^^K 1? ^^ Y^^ ^ first-class surgeon, having held
very high hospital appointments, and indeed still hold-
mg them. Why, I asked, should he not come and set
»i!=t ^^ °A ,'^ °''? ^ J. '^°"''* «PP°'nt him doctor to the
Jltl f a'so,g'Ye him charge of a cottage hospital
^ « h v^/'"^^^'1^' ^'^h liberty to build and arrange
It as he hked. Further, as I considered that it would be
of great advantage to me to have a man of real ability
within reach I would guarantee for three years what-
ever income he was earning in London.
He thanked me warmly and in the end acted on the
Idea, with startling results so far as his prospects were
h™T^- Very soon his really remarkable Ikill
became known and he was earning more money than
as an unmarried man he could possibly want. Indeed
scarcely a big operation took place at any town within
twenty miles, and even much farther away, at which he
was not called in to assist.
f^r^^t'^'f^ to say his advent was a great boon to me,
for as he lived in a house I let him quite near by, when!
ever he had a spare evening he would drop in to dinner,
and from our absolutely opposite standpoints we disl
cussed all things human and divine. Thus I was
l?fi-.u sharpen my wits upon the hard steel of his
clear intellect which was yet, in a sense, so limited.
1 must add that I never converted him to my way
20 When the World F .ook
fil^'!!'''"^ '"''* ^? S^^'^r converted me to his, any more
he h-S'^'l-J^""*^ -P^'*'"' ^°' ^^°^' q"ee% enough!
Rtti "* f ''•""«; ^•'^y pounded away at ekch other
Bickley frequently getting the best of it In the argument
r .trre^SS ^!!tr " «°' '^ «-ra.f;3
^o£!„a..^L];StJ?rwro?^^^^^^^^^
times \nTnot?o^.°.\''' "■'°'- ^' '^^' '^^^ ^ ^S
r^^' ^ u. , '° confess it is mere pigheadedness
fS^e"'^ ^ "^ ""'" '''"* ^"^^•^ ^'"^ sittingTp
fist's? him '^'il^r Bi«^W«y *ould say. shaking his
nsi alter nim. The only way to eat him to «*>p
the^tnith would be to saw^is Vad !,pen Tnd po^?
Then we would both laugh.
Such were my two most intimate friends, although
LI™" i- *^^^f he^ like the equator cultivating S
rda^ onsh.ps with the north and south poles. CertaS
Ba^in was as far from Bickley as those ooints^of Th^
C'weeTthTS "h ^ '' ^ " ^"^' ^ "q^a^^ c^stfn
^! hf, • ^°' However, we wtere all very hapov to-
fhi. h' H "'^ '" ^*''^'" characters, there are few^hWs
opinion ""'" """'^ ''°^'^ *^"" P'-^^^""^ differlS
all ^*°^ ^- """^^ -uf" ,*° ""y '"°''« personal affairs. After
all, It IS impossible for a man to satisfy his soul if hp
Sr^I^n^ers '!^Zl 'd'°"^-'^™ "''''^^ in th^r^emotest
we!S;r= ani'UdSrsuWTiJtld'^-.f oc^^
casional theological and other argumenTsblfween hi^
friends Becoming profoundly convinced of this tnirh
Bastin and Bickley
qualifications whatever He^,dml'!°!iT>'.^«'"''fi^
but rt^niiAH fh-I T • L "* admitted the d fScultv
become a mT^iona'iy "^' ^ ""S*" ^^ °^^'"«» «nd
might possibly advantilrp tit 5^^® ^^''y' which
enrich L KiiVom "f fea^en thSh o"f** "{J'T'^'y
no one could be auite^^nr; af' *"°"8^" o^ such things
that at present l' wis rn;r3^"^ '^1^' ^^ ^^ certain
whatever it Sht b^ and .K'." "«ff acting my duty,
of the earth^fo he'ohSrv J ^' ?k^ °^ '^°^ cuiberere
in and read wh^n^fSlime^'^er'-^/^^'* *°f
named— the idle rich." ' ^ ^^'^ happily
clubTnaSes'aTt^ T' Irfe^f ^^' "^V ^^^ ^'°^''-^-
in fact, it is /2s in dth? .« ^ scandalous condition;
of the parish I ^consider 'if ?„r°{!"' '^^^ ^ '^^ squire
good £ot as a^SfL'; ^aTX" "o^ " '"^'^^
why^have y.„ „ot got thetS U"/ o? wTch'^y^J
ness °' iS k]kinV:f''^ "'^'^ ]■•« --' ^'-k"
I am convinced it mu^ ^^ Z^^^I°. disagreeable that
concerned As reSs^he fij^-f ''t^°'" '^' ^°°'' °^ «"
know, but Sarah nfte7likedbS ^ T k'"'" i[ ^''^ "°t
something to do wfth U » ' '"''"='' ^"^^P^ ^as
Then he sighed, adding, "You see, Arbuthnot, we
32 When the World Shook
have to take things as we find them in this world and
hope for a better."
" Which is just what I am trying to do, you un-
Illuminating old donkey 1 " I exclaimed, and left him
there shaking his head over matters in general, but I
think principally over Sarah.
By the way, I think that the villagers recognised
this good lady's vinegary nature. At least, they used
to call her "Sour Sal.^'
CHAPTER III
NATAtIB
T^.LJ^'^ T" «^P"ienced any lean ngs thTwIv
Sd me ''■°'"^"' """^ "' '^^ ^'"^ ti^e the;
alwJls °iJJ!^h^'°"^"'^^ *=*'T '" • '° ""y t«te there was
atTaKne Slrf „r°"^ ^''°"' ^*'*='"- While they
nin„ 7 P . , ""*• Moreover, qu te at the bepin.
ning ofmy career I had concluded from obMrvation fC
as these do to men of wealth and advanced views THpv
never came to anything, for in the endVSed £
23
t: '
24 When the World Shook
foul? S'h^rfn'""'' SO hatc'ul and so dishonest, that I
couW not bring myself to put my neck beneath their
mi; J *1' '."''' l^""' '^ ^ t"«d to do so, I should fail
Sat^''' hI'^"" ^''"^ ^°"« « '»>« Bar and in
riglu '"• '°°' ' "" <!""« certain that I was
U.J!!'' T"""' °/ '' *" *«s that I sought refuge in that
&«r„T„ 'J'u' ■«^'S"'-ely and with an inquiring mind
thinJoIeVan"^ itS^n'"^'" ^"'"^•°"« '^ '^ *''« --«
^nej^^^^^^
«.e^.n. touch w.^.^ certain ^tjers w^opej.^
Mden sprmg in my nnture which hitherto hS always
been stnvmg to break through the crust of m.rrnr
ventions and inherited ideas. I know now °hatwha?l'
still he rnigh^ have spread his wings in the liehtof nfhpr
suns millions upon millions of years ago Ind mSf
t„ R- u?^^^ •'°"¥ ''"°^ tf^e truth. Was Life faccordin^
to Bick ey) merely a short activity bounded by no^hin/
ness before and behind; or (according to R«LT^"
Ur was It something qu te diffprpnt fm™ ^-^u^r
these, something vast and%lend S^yond t^e^each o
vision, something God-sent betrinninV^^ni ^- ?^
I
I
Natalie jj
ihs^ SIr"r ^"°f»"^- s^."
agination called into «ff bv thP *''^°".°1 O"""**' '«"-
Eastern stars " ''^ ""^ ^w'^" influences of the
ior^rZ l'did"trforge7^','ii'^^ ^' 1^"°"'^
hope, or at any rate wh^a J^T^T'?^ *"'' ^ "•=*
secret child of ^holy dwire tret nn? ""°"' ?"^ '»i«'
soul, till at lenirth it S!/ ""'^ ^frew within mv
mine was tMlf^tL h?Hl ^Af"P°" T '''«' '^is soul o(
learn my lelS„\ '^ '^onSer S rh^^^^^^ ^ •""«
could not give his namr^efn J^S l^T ^''*'"" '"«"ds
knew, as distineuishTd fmm lh f' whatever they really
it was little enough etho7 them' h*'^. ^^'^ ll'^^^^' «"d
teaching of his of n »ul *'*'' '*'*"*'* ^^-n the
'oJ|5^:'t£''Ly^ forw"i^L'7o?rhT'''^ •°"'>' -«
-S "wThi' fertorv"e^S,"r^/°^"-''- I
the things of the world anrf.J%^"';^''" '"'"«t in
who had*" taken anSreuest^''^.f" in wo^en, I,
things of the worldcame back to mr"^'^''\'"«' '^°^
Woman the Inevitable Pro^M ^P'' '" ^'^^ ^''^P^ «^
since is it not wri ten th«f n^ ^ '* '?' =° ''ecVeed
alone or lose K Sf ?n Va°cWn^ ^h"'' ^^ •^'"'^'f
growth of his own soul? matching and nurturing the
36 When the World Shook
I had heard of him as a man of archspologfical tastes and
thought that he might enable me to see things which
otherwise I should not see.
As it chanced he knew about me through some of
my Devonshire neighbours who were friends of his,
and did ask me to dinner on the following night. I
accepted and found myself one of a considerable party,
some of them distinguished English people who wore
Orders, as is customary when one dines with the repre-
sentative of our Sovereign. Seeing these, and this
shows that in the best of us vanity is only latent, for the
first time in my life I was sorry that I had none and was
only plain Mr. Arbuthnot who, as Sir Alfred explained
to me politely, must go in to dinner last, because all
the rest had titles, and without even a lady as there was
not one to spare.
Nor was mv lot bettered when I got there, as I found
myself seated between an Italian countess and a Russian
prince, neither of whom could talk English, while,
alas, I knew no foreign language, not even French in
which they addressed me, seemmg surprised that I did
not understand them. I was humiliated at my own
Ignorance, although in fact I was not ignorant, only my
education had been classical. Indeed I was a good
classic and had kept up my knowledge more or less,
especially since I became an idle man. In my confusion
it occurred to me that the Italian countess might know
Latm from which her own language was derived, and
addressed her in that tongue. She stared, and Sir
Alfred, who was not far off and overheard me (he also
knew Latin), burst into laughter and proceeded to
explain the joke in a loud voice, first in French and then
in English, to the assembled company, who all became
infected with merriment and also stared at me as a
curiosity.
Then it was that for the first time I saw Natalie, for
owing to a mistake of my driver I had arrived rather
late and had not been introduced to her. As her father's
only daughter, her mother being dead, she was seated
at the end of the table behind a fan-like arrangement
Natalie 37
of white Madonna lilies, and she had bent forward and
like tl,e othcra, was looking at me, but in such a
.SoSi.'"*' ^" head from*that distance ^med as
though It were surrounded and crowned with lilies. In-
deed the greatest art could not have produced a more
Semi "^'"^ *"• ^°^'^"' '"»y on« o"nTked
An angel looking down upon earth through the lilies
of Heaven-that was the rather absurd thought which
flashed ,nto my mind. I did not quite reali^ her S
«l 5 fi.rS'P' "'''•' " ?*.'"'='' '° *"= »»"' dark and fair"
as a fact her wavmg hair which grew rather low upon
her forehead, was dark, and her large, soft eyes were
grey. I did not know, and to this moment I do not
know If she was really beautiful, but certainly the light
rlaJJlT" ""°1'^'' ^}?^ "y" °^ ''"S and seemed to be
reflected upon her delicate features, was beauty itself.
n„r«? IK *^' g'P^ing through 'a thin yase'^of the
pi rest alabaster withm which a lamp is placed, and I
felt this effect to arise from no chance, lite thn^ of the
withb"'"^* °* *' **'*' ^''°'" ^^^ •*"? °^ ^^^ SP''"
w^n^!!' *^? 1?*'! "."'* ^ suppose that she saw the
wonder and admiration in mine. At any rate her
Zu^h J-m'" ^'^"^' 'r'"^ '^' ^""^ rath'erlerious
though still sweetly serious, and a tinge of colour crep
oyer ,t as the first hue of dawn creeps into a pearly sk?
Then she withdrew herself behind the screen of^ lilies
and for the rest of that dinner which I thought was never
coming to an end, practically I saw her no more. Only
ronnH^/fni' passed out that although not tall, she wai
Scula'; delK'"' '" ^'^P^ ""^ '"^^ ''^ •'-^^ --
Afterwards in the drawing-room her father, with
whom I had talked at the table, introduced me to her.
saying : '
nnt"^':l'?""u^^'"J"' ^h" '■''^' archasologist, Mr. Arbuth-
heip ^oJ » ^°" ^ *""■' ^^^ ""^y ^ ^^'« *°
Then he bustled away to speak to some of his iro-
ff
28 When the World Shook
ffiSlfn"Sat!r ^'^'^ ' ''-' '^ ^- -kin,
svm^llf!!^^' exaggerates," she said i„ a soft and very
nfeT?2l^t aThe^; side ^ ^^'^^^ ""^"^ ^^^ -'°-^
that I went back to my hotel inTove Sth Nata ie Th'
as^ sh^^afterwards confessed, she went to W '/„'' ^t
It was a curious business, more like mfPfinr,
old fnend from whom one had been le^arai/hv'^
thing quite beyondTha" e/eSary'SS^""^^' ^"^
of tt^Xt :alln?'th"e';r"e^rS^ '" ''^^1''^''-
which at that hour were shut fo all S-int""™ ^S ^°"'"'
confessed our love I reallv th?nl P* ourselves, we
the , pot by tacrbut'rtS/5i:r bTciLs';;v?en
"uiL^'i^HeLTIrrlfe ^irSt^S!?, r ^^^^^
and virt/e also whicTlL between th^se'eZ^^^^^^^
seemed to be the most fitting Iftar whereon to nfflJ^* "
heans and all that caused^them t^'b^^rea^ch^t Z
Natalie
private resource! and I w;,,? 7 ' '^o^^^ssed but small
for his daughter who h^H h ''"^ '° "''?'''^ ™P'« Provision
?4'^£ne »i^-^'-J"«'^"-
ordinary life. ^' ^' ^^^ ^°''« ^^^ "P^ard rise of
tain"? we'nive'; Smed^of' '' "^ ''^^"^'^' «^ ^»- Cer-
we. who Wereyour^Tvrnn,nP-'"P'''-. ^''^ ^^ould
verV rich? Who thfnk.nfn~P''°"' '^'^''^ ^'^^''''y and
stan^:es, when SrsIslLr seen^s t^h^.l ""'^^ *^'"="'"-
is yet a long way off ? ^^ eliminated and death
havf kni'Sfm^tlT 1°"^ ^^'-l^^^"^^ -« should
tothe.nnL^tre^i'l-^^^^^^^
FulLrbe'°:£re°of7oufs?:'^" we^returneS'home to
tipn. includin^^JL^;^^^^^^^^^ oflun ^ f KU^-^al
made
of bells that » ..au gi
haste to point this out.
to have done very little fn^r^o^^ °' ^^'*^*' y°" s«em
I should like y^u to do Td thl^'^r "P""^^^
ought to be oLed b^a erlt n "h.'rP^V'P^'^' ''^^^
according to the views yfuexDr^^r ih^'Ti'l ^'•
thoueht voii urn.,1^ » I f'T ess. I should have
else f hat rman°^2 wan^Tr ^"^«-"y»h|ng
you should be Z favomJ JL "y.^u^"^^ '^^'
any particular merits o^Torowrwhrc? oS^r se°!
30 When the World Shook
However, I have no doubt it will all come even in the
end and you will get your share of troubles, like others.
Perhaps Mrs. Arbuthnot will have no children as there
IS so much for them to take. Or perhaps you will lose
all your money and have to work for your living, which
might be good for you. Or," he added, still thinking
aloud after his fashion, "perhaps she will die youne—
she has that kind of face, although, of course, I hope
she won't," he added, waking up. ^
I do not know why, but his wandering words struck
me cold; the proverbial funeral bell at the marriaee feast
was nothing to them. I suppose it was becaule in a
flash of intuition I knew that they would come true and
that he was an appointed Cassandra. Perhaps this
uncanny knowledge overcame mv natural indignation
at such super-^aucfcerie of which no one but Bastin
could have been capable, and even prevented me
from replying at all, so that I merely sat still and looked
31 fiiTn.
But Bickley did reply with some vigour.
Forgive me for saying so, Bastin." he said bristline
all over as it were, "but your remarks, which may or
may not be in accordance with the principles of your
religion, seem to me to be in singularly bad taste. Thev
would have turned the stomachs of a gathering of early
Christians, who appear to have been the worst man-
nered people in the world, and at any decent heathen
onu omen"" '^°"''' ^^''^ ^^^" "^'""^ ^^ ^^^^ °^ * ^'"^
"Why?" asked Bastin blankly. "I only said what
your Christianity as a cloak for bad manners. It teaches
consideration and sympathy for others of which you seem
to have none. Moreover, since you talk of the death of
people's wives, I will tell you 'something about your
rr; hL^M "''"'kT'I'''^^ *=^" *^° ^ ^ never attended her.
It is highly probable, m my opinion, that she will die
Natalie 31
before Mrs Arbuthnot who is quite a healthy person
with a good prospect of life." ^ ^
will"f„^rf^^''l'"..*^''' ^^'"C- "" so, it will be God's
^tin^^h ^ *" r' complain" (here Bickley snorted),
Jh I ,^° "°' ^^ ^'^^t yo" can know about it. Bu
why should you cast reflections on the early Christians
S^^'^'^nP'" °^ "*™"& P^'"c'P'« living in rough
!i^rch- 9 ?^ ^° "^^^^ '^^'' *&^'"S' an established devil-
worsnip f 1 know you are angry because thev smasheH
up the statues of Venus and sf forth, but Tad^ £ h
their place I should have done the saiiie."
Of course you would, who doubts it? But as for
Ifii ^ Christians and their iconoclastic performances
mthe room. ""' '^''' ' '" ' " ""^ ^^ ^p'^"^ "P «"d
I followed him.
Let it not be supposed from the above scene that
there was any ill-feeling between Bastin and Bickley.
On the contrary they were much attached to each other,
and this kind of quarrel meant no more than the strone
expression of their individual views to which they were
accustomed from their college days. For instance
Bastin was always talking about the early Christians
and missionaries, while Bickley loathed both, the early
Christians because of the destruction which they had
wrought in Egypt, Italy, Greece and elsewhere, of all
that was beautiful ; and the missionaries because, as he
said, they were degrading and spoiling the native races
and by inducing them to wear clothes, rendering them
liable to disease. Bastin would answer that their souls
were more important than their bodies, to which Bickley
replied that as there was no such thing as a soul except
in the stupid imagination of priests, he differed entirely
on the point. As it was quite impossible for either to
convince the other, there the conversation would end or
drift into something in which they were mutually inter-
ested, such as natural history and the hygiene of the
neighbourhood. ^^
Here I may state that Bickley's keen professional eye
was not mistaken when he diagnosed Mrs. Bastin's state
'' When the WorJd Shook
ZitT ^y. '^' colour Ke Hos tJ°^t'- u^«" <>''«"
about her death under the t!!^ ' •"'^•' ^'"^h brought
night she tore up to the Pri„ . ^''^"' o" a winter's
?o7 hil°^"?" '" -^i-^h to'^SSto i^^^^^^ -^ t° Snd
'or him. I expostulateH Zll- , ^'<^ 'own to look
•Id with si mai.y-isS;'' ""^ "">■ «■"» mi?Ld
B look „ ,h. „,K|V£"i '"■l'"'" "» ttExWer
"vnen her husband did
Natal
33
actually passed away while nL^-^"^"^"^'^ '»' ""d
agamst him for his suppo^d suS^ * ^'°'^'" tirade
That was the end of Thifr ^"^Pf.'o"s proceedings.
In after day^fiitL bv " ^."'''^"V^"''^'' '"«^™"-
cess, canoi.ised her in h;« ,-J^,^?"'^ Peculiar mental pro-
;So loving," he wou,ry^£r't,''"^°^^^'"^
Why, my dear Humphrey T^n ««. ^ '^^T^'' ^^'^e'
the midst of her death-struJ-^P Hp 7^ ^"i" '^^' ^^^n in
of me," words that ZtXktj f^'' *^""8^''*^ ^'"«
than usual vigour until I L-.fi^ j t^ *° ^"^"^ with more
the table. ^ ' ""*" ^ '^'^ked him to silence beneath
i J
I
CHAPTER IV
DEATH AND DEPARTURE
Now I must tj.li ^t
rether
were perfectly mated, and if.' t^^'J^^^Y^ spirituafly we
Truly we were as one YetTh °''^'' "^'='' other dearly
her which filled me with ^J./JT' **^ something about'
allv a« r " ' *J""^ ''"ow, deares?" «h^ '^''?.* ^''^ meant
^^oAo^t^^i^^l companionship is going to be
ror a little whilpf" T .. & " oe
..Oh, my God I "I groaned
.'.-d. ..nee , l"relEvr SftS "«'. s
34 ^ will find me again.
Death and Departure
speate about as tfough'^0^^^^^^^ heavfn, w"ich he
darkness for a miaufeimoTL^ ^''^ ^J^mbled 'trough
eivCT » her „ , „P1°'« f'g l»mmy which had taej
way, L tZugh some 'svJ^'^u'^^'"'P^"'>S in a peculiar
^^i ''^ -- ra.ersrrt.x:rr„^^^^^^
yourseii^ atout ^uTfan^ ^h"'^' "don't torment
£:?. ^^« '^-'.ot her bV°™'.Krn^„ ^S^i
te'aSand°wir'''"^ '■"--•"•
and in due^^u^^ tTe evem h' ^^ ^'^' « 'ong nightmare
attending the cS it wlf „'',^PP«"«d. . Bicfle/was ^^t
he preferred that wher^a f ? „h. '*i'"^' ''e s^'d, and
somebodv else shouTbe iagi ? ^'^^ ^as concerned.
36 When the World Shook
judged the conditions" it wa' t^ ?'^" """" '"'^ m's^
where you seem ca led tn Tt '^^"' '"y «'«••""&. Go
you have found me To<^'L;lr' "°' ''"owing that
but could not IbutieS hZ\X 'V;T^'^ '° die-
combe; or rather I buried their «h.^ ''^■'^ ^^^ « F"'-
end^re that her beloved ^^^jj^-f^^^^ not
wort^';7Nlali?s'whL' both°B,^J/P°''!,^^"'«« '^t
somehow I seemed to ^^sh to le! ^th^,""'' ^"^*'"' ^°'
. The latter, I may explain had Kplr' ^^"^^^ ^'ews.
n his spiritual capadty but I H« ^ u?^"* «t the end
the east understood /£'„a?ure of.h^ V'""^ '^^' ^e in
passing before his eyes H^J nrf ^ '^''^'"^ *bich was
'ng absorbed all hisSntion aTh' ^"'' '^^ ^''"'^en-
who could think of more than i.%r" ^^^ « «"«"
When I told him exactly what h^d h'""^ ^' « *™e-
peated the words that Natal irsni^'* ^^ened and re-
terested n his own nebufous wav .Ad ' 'Tu'""'^'' '""
delightful to meet with an examoT; ^ ^^'^ that it was
such as my wife had been who , » ,f ^^ Christian,
of Heaven before she had Tone thp"*"^ S^ «""«h'ng
was he thanked God, fairi roh^ff-u "'^ °^" ^aitH
doubted occurrence of the sL St Ji'' ''"' «*'" «" un- '
: '"^e r^n on a pasture whenTis X^--^ refreshment,
he added, breaking into simile '^'^' y°" ''"ow,"
I remarked that She had not seemed to speak in the
Death and Departure
put too much reliance u^nwn?i°"T " L' "°' ^'^e to
the last, because often th^v don'r n Tl^" ^^ I^P'" ^t
are saying. Indeed sCmSs I hinl th^"""" ^^^' "'"y
case of my o« n ^^■ih, ^yUo?eful il ^^'^ '"'^ ^ '" the
good deal of rubbish rn.H I "J^'^ '° '"'' ^° t^'k a
Widow Jenkins this afternoon a'Kulh '''"'"^^^ '^ ^
probably the heres^ ofone of"fhose ^'l T^f ^".''J^''
occupied most of his thoughts ^ ^ ^^''"^ '"''°
a dS'^J^ftol ?ade'n;'''^7"'e^'''«*- -'-ce. as
gch sometLes a;S;;s"^i;S/=^1nX-^^^^^^^^^
the^Th7n^\"°7wishth1tlCS' J P"* ^^'"^ - "0"e of
both show me ha thev Lrk f^*^']*" ''^"°" a"^ science
the whole is a ^^ pfi^e l^^"^"""-. '^^^ ^"^'^ on
passions of other* imif '. ^^ere we arrive through the
although k cires nnT- .^'^ '•" 1^^ ''3' Nature, which
towards the fmpuK?^J°Vof "'•"'' ^'''''' '« ^^S
theircollectiveUfe Indeed tL- ^''^'y ^"■* *° P^«^"'e
least its chief manifestad^n rnn""/"'"^ 'f ^'^'"^^' °^ «»
be gnats or elephants or anvtSno.V,''H'""^' ^^''^'' ^^'^
even stars for aueht T knnf/ ^ between and beyond.
38 When the World Shook
you will hflvPothL J palance has re-asserted itself
daysr;'id'?hrai w^^t^^^liSt" Z 6lT°^rV' >^'^
experience conv7nces me .hT.^ "'" •''"''*' ""^' X^"^
avoided at whatever in,. ■ ' '"^mage should be
wondered t^aran^oneTn":'!.''-''-. '"''"'''' ' ''^^« 'o"g
bringing a child'inr h fworS ' B , t Ifrrf'''''''^ ^'^
does in cold blood exr, n- ^? j pn.bably nobody
he added. "He wouH'hf ?""'"'' "^'°'" Hke^Bastin,^
intervened." '^ '^'"^ '''^"'y- had not his ludc
•'Not'hin^ri''fm r '" ""''""^' ''"^"'i." I «id.
my fivesenst ip'p"eS-'° ^"'^ '""''P' ^'^^^ ^ «« ^nd
"Tha"f H^^f ' '^" P°^«'bility of miracle, for instance?"
showI'S S^'kind^^oftS" ""T^y -'"cTiSe
fathers would have caiXtcIef St fh"' ^"^' ^™"'^-
but laws that we are bec-in^ nt .!f ' J ^^^^ ^'^ "o^^ing
an instance." ''eg'nn.ng to understand. Give me
somZ:"Ct^"^'^^couK'fl''' ^? "^^^ ^^^"^^d by
"I should tell h"m ?hif h» °' ^'*'?"sand years P""^
all. It is impoJsib™" ^* ^^ ""^ ^ ^°°' ^-^ « 'i^'-. that is
cipi'eSa!n;;tt"r^a; rr' ^rf'^^ p--
Sfe '^ifh-Stei^l^ Or t^t tt ie?d ^^^l
min:/?o":TSt^^tntlJ'"i^' r^^'^.f'T' -<^
every word I have saidanrf ^i^u *k ^J ^'" ^^l^^ back
white sheet proclai^ mysd? thl ^'{^''^"''^'''"be in a
oflr to the Cottage HosohaTtr. f ^o"'- Now, I must get
varicose veins. ^TheyVeJ°J^^ out Widow Jenkinf's
about the largest I ever saS. !ndeed"^r-'' '' "". '^*^'
old boy, and take to somethn" useful V "^ ^'t^"'^'
back to your fiction writing; "y^u^^el-nJ-to^hrve-^rL^"
I
Death and Departure
^ceHnVafc^^^oirh: S"? ^P^biis^h the storied
. With this Parthian shaS.u °^ ^^V' Wends." '
for somehow I have never bee^^h/*^" '° "^*« ""'"ute?
-'^ to burn what cost JL^^^XfeS ^
with'^a'dl;,' W."'1llS-'-c'>oly returned to me
tongue and cried to me o7d'«^,'" ^he house toolc «
a vo.ce that I could never h^e^aSn ■'\^''^^' ''^^^
'ng-glasses I saw the reflertin^ ? ,' '" "'^ very look-
t'^ough I had moved myself for .h ^ '°'' P^^«^""- Al-
a l.ttTe room at the furXr end ' '^f ^u'"'?"^" "^ sleep to
seemed to creep abou mv bed t ^ budding, footsteps
rustle of a re^mbered^ress tithS \"*^ ^ ''^^^^ 'he
:^^c^^5nn.^S^r7i--^^«^o'^andi^
especially of those of the locTetvt ^k^''' Sea Islands
Hnd he threw it on thelSre^in°ir^'"'^ ll" «"'>^"bed:
B'ckley picked it up and ooeneH w ^ "ghtSous wrath
and^nothmg else, which t^tS^ow^.S^^r
her diynS;'i^tracl?vf S^*"^t "'^^ J'^" object ? i ea„'
her hibiscus- bSmsXlh^^^jh^^^ shi does w2
I'ttle loiver down." diflreren:e to our wom-n-a
•;
40 When the World Shook
"Why?" asked Bickley, "seeing that wide seas roll
between you and this dusky Venus. Also I thought
that according to your Hebrew legend sin came in with
bark garments."
" V ou should search the Scriptures, Bickley," I broke
in, "and cultivate accuracy. It was fig-leaves that sym-
bolised its arrival. The garments, which I think were
of skin, developed later."
"Perhaps," went on Bickley, who had turned the
page, "she" (he referred to the late Mrs. Dastin) "would
have preferred her thus," and he held up another
illustration of the same woman.
In this the native belle appeared after conversion,
clad in broken-down stays— I suppose they were stays-
out of which she seemed to bulge and flow in every
direction, a dirty white dress several sizes too small, a
kind of Salvation Army bonnet without a crown and a
prayer-book which she held pressed to her middle ; the
P^eneral effect being hideous, and in some curious way,
improper. ^
"Certainly," said Bastin, "though I admit her
clothes do not seem to fit and she has not buttoned them
up as she ought. But it is not of the pictures so much
as of the letterpress with its false and scandalous accusa-
tions, that I complain."
"Why do you complain? " asked Bickley. "Prob-
ably It IS quite true, though that we could never
ascertain without visiting the lady's home."
"If I could afford it," exclaimed Bastin with rising
anger, "I should like to go there and expose this vile
traducer of my cloth."
"So should I," answered Bickley, "and expose these
introducers of consumption, measles and other Euro-
pean diseases, to say nothing of gin, among an innocent
and Arcadian people.
"How can you call them innocent, Bickley, when
they murder and eat missionaries ? "
"I dare say we should all eat u missionary, Bastin
if we were hungry enough," was the answer, after which
something occurred to change the conversation.
Death and Departure 41
little, orat least taKe%r^ «*'"*'"* °"« '° 'o^S" «
I no viskS and''e5^«^°'^'"K'"°:>- Whv should
English win erT No I c3 „°?^''*' '°,"« ""^ <'^«^»^y
an<f Bickley were th^re ^hifr .' *^° f *'*'"*• " B«s"n
me and sholldZt l^'^lruV^'lt wa?S a^T^'l '^
land, a curving shore of whirh thi »n^ * '°"8^' '"*
picture, whereon Stw^llJ^L^r'^^°''^°^^^''
combers broke upof JlUlngSnT "'"' "'"* «^'^^'
straneely va'-'r : SfnJ ?"""e^'"' '" her'aspect,
-stanc^ngin t.i.U; i, f „ n^.*^*]"'^' f'"»nply brfght,
ing clifil we covered u ifh'^^.f^. ' ''"'^^"'^ ^"'« ''°'-der-
|5'ri.n was almoThld A^'^yV:eis'VZ'' ^"""^
h^rTr^S'^t^w-Sut;'"^'"^''-^^^^^^^^^
her^dyinlTord/.'-'Goth^ ^"^^ ^" ^°'<=«' -P^'ting
far awayf Oh t the wonSf ? ^/'^ ^^"^ ""^^l '^ go!
findme^otti^^/rafyrh^al^^^^^^^^^^^
tl.at'^ight""?: tSrnTnit 'L^^" ^'^""^ -« ^wlce
that I would go to the 5""^'^''°'= "^ '''^ ^' determined
must do so allne nntw ^^'^ ^^'^"''s, even if I
Bickley dined with me I Ltr\r"'"« ^«^"" ^"d
my dream for Bastion; J-. ^f^ "°L'""8^ '° ""^m about
have set it rfnwn »^ • !^*- ''reamed and Bickley would
had b^'n cleared a^-^ytT'°''' ^T *''^" '^^ ^^^Ih
port-both^^B^a^t^ar rckr;?„^;"tr"^ ^'^^^^^
of
one, the
42 When the World Shook
tefl'SX^arbSulrf* ^"^5" indulgence
very run down and as thoThXy wlnted^a^.S ' tk'*'
BickW '"•■/'Volf ^ '^'" PT'*- "^es," interrupted
become chromic if vou^ei-U-/ "^'l' ?""' *'^''='> ^i"
the same thine myself .o*^T 'V'""'''? '°"^«'- ^ have
I can stop ope?aS /o'r a whHef h.r ''"°^' #"^ ""'"'^
become useless K ™^/,- '^^^' «^ "^ '^"^^rs will
overstrain rsuppi°/°oi"^j 'am'^'h "^^^ ^'«^''
stronger and stronger' JasJel I thTnt T '^'1, V° ^^"
leave Ogden " (his oartne^Mn L K^ ^'^^^ ^*^« ^^
^et^a/, ,„J,,^e''S-Vhe^e^tCir^^^^^^^^
quit;;s=^|./C;^/:^^^S '-«. and were
"as I ha™ef sl.gT^S^J^'iJ'''^ '''^t ," I remarked,
to the South Sefffbout Xh wl7e°re-tJ."""^ ''^ ^°
day, to get the thorough change thrfR.Vu"? ^^^'''-
advising for me and T «hn,,C?l Bickley has been
would b^oth com; as"iy t^^^ Yo7^ifj:f ^^"' '1^°"
much money out of cuttinrSopKou thJ; """^^ ^
arrange your own affairQ H../;^^ ^ ' ^"at you can
for you/fiastin I wtii „„'/"! J°"':^''se"«:e. But as
/.c,<^.;„.„tTnd^;e';;tringni£'""'"^"''^^' ^- '^^
shouid^'i^rtVexjoSfhi',^;' SS "r^ -«--"'y I
ably published Mfoff^nc?^""*^,'* ^H^hor, who prob-
that^Lt ie wVe mfght affectX^ V'^"^"'- *'"^'"&
missionary societies"aS\o?iSw'lickw"ff"h'e •" '^'
always nght, as he seems to think^' t f ?^^^il '^^fr
Death and Departure 43
fcp."' "''^^P^'"*^ ^''l^o"' the full approval of the
pensTo"be Im fhy^-'lr^' 2"?f ^«°' '^ «he hap-
Lordship, I don't hink h^ ^nf* ^'^''''y- "^ ^°r his
he sees the certificatL I wil^i L^"^ ^"7 objection when
your health. Jle is aUei ^v ^''".^'^"t 'he state of
took that carbuncle out of hsnl^l'^'V^T ^^" ^'""^ I
he will not eat enough ^^'f^'tr'^i'* ^' 8^°* b«=ause
only to show you how comfn.,/iir^ ' l '"^^'? ^"^ ^'"e if
to celebrate the occasion let ,f?T |."*1"'"^«- ^nd now,
port and drink a toasl " ' ^" ^^^^ ^"^'^'^ ^'ass of
soml'h7ng':£:flf"dj^^,^^,;ost. Bastin murmuring
penance. ^ Then they ^b^th Xh'" 1'°"' "''^^ ^^^ «« «
each of them afterTho. k. ^^^ ""^^^ was the toast.
be the uttercon'ftLn'ofSj'othff"*'"^ ''''' '^ ^''o"'^
4atn%a"sLttmiSd"r^^^^^ °^ ^"«her
suitable. Bickley said that he S«. k^^'?'" ^°"'^ be
<dea as everything worth kLwin?^''* /'"I ^ ^°°"sh
and what wi the e3 of HriT^ "^^ ^'■"^^'^y known,
to the Truth woulf b^'^b/tter "^ '° '^" '"^* ? A toasJ
A notion came to me.
Unknown^Trmh ••"' ''''"''" ' ^-^' "«n<i drink to the
ance'^rd^'i.t^Ske'l'i'i^tf""'''^'^ *^^' '''^ P^^--
sigh."^^ are all Pilates in our way," I replied with a
excSei Bi^krey^ '''*"'' '^^'^ ^™« ^ '^-■«&"ose a case,"
^ht^Lr^I^YSj^gj-^k-nrea^
44 When the World Shook
^liTu" °^ ^*' *°""s^ t*'e of the South Sea Islands
could have guessed what fruit his light-thrown «S
would yield to us and to the world I ^
whihT''^ "^ inquiries through a London agencv
As I .vnr.?H°"Ly^''''« "' soldlhem to the idle^ricZ
As I expected, there were plenty to be had at a nr ce
bu wealthy as I was. the fig'ure aked of the buyer oTaS
suitable craft staggered me. In the end, however I ch^r
ShT ^°','''' "'°"*''^ *=«^^'" and'atlo much pj;
month for as long as I liked after^vards. The owners
paid insurance and everything else on condition thi?
they appointed the captain and first mate X the
^o^A could steam at about ten knots as well as sail
I know nothing about yachts, and therefore shall not
a tempt to describe her, further than to 47°hlt she w2
of five hundred and fifty tons burden, very well con
structed and smart to ibok at, as well Ihe n^iSht h^"
fhirfd'S^r MT"^^. "'/"""^'^^ from"whose";i'itors
1 nired her, had spent a fortune in buildine- and ponTn!
s^tfd'^f tWrtv S rt''^ r ^- ^" ^"' hef clXt
fvfl .1, : *"'.'^y-two hands. A peculiarity of the vessel
was that owing to some fancy of the late owner thJ^
^".ffK^T""".°'^^"P"' ^^'"-^'^ ^vassplendTlay foma^
of tHe bridge, this with the ship's store-rooms refr^r^wf
Si^o^fe'- „^itS>H S?„-0S
Death and Departure 45
tranch'olirKe'^spiSafisf r*',J--''«n. was a
tina, and seemed to h? «hu T^° Pb^''^ "^« concer-
quite unobjectionabS' S Tha"n °ha ? oHheril-"^
Scandmavian. I think that is all i niL ^u '^'"8^
5tef 0/ tfcc 5outfe. * ^" ^ "^^<^ ^y about the
shouW pSdThrou^tf ;ha» the 5t«r of the South
Marseille^s^^here w™Sld^f„;„^^"" ^i Gibraltar to
via the Suez CanaT t^a .^ ," ^er, and thence travel
Seas, returning home i ou 'Vn^rt"" '° *^^ ^""^^
might dictate. ^^"'^y ^'^ convenience
lettel." Snhe"'eE„d1r'?L'""\r '"''^ «"' ^^ ^he
instruments!' setTteS^bv'Slir '"'^J*='"^ ^"^ «"^?i'-^
and other i^Ss work? Tn^^^n"'',^ "^^ °^ »»>'<»
South Seas, selected bvlR«r u^ languages of the
^^SSS5£FSSF^-^Sba^^£
Si^f-^iS^^-
reached MSles ahlfl^'^^V'°"' '^^ Thames and
all three o? urSarded Lf ' "^^ '^'''^'' '''''''
little ?Sr Tommf 1'^h^ •^""^'i^^ P^^^^"^-. 'he
behindrbuf'whne T w« n/t- '"'^"'^^ *° '«*^« him
about with su^h evLT..?^'''"r^."P he followed me
that my heart"tsi;^uXd"'^rnte^„°^^^^^^^
£and. had^rbTk„:- t"-i!f4T/^h„^-y^^^^^^^^
CHAPTER V
THE CYCLONE
time to spend a few daysTn r Ji"' ^^'^T'' ^^^^ "»
and Sakkara which BaS and B?Ar"l '5" Pyramids
thi° m'-,""^ •■■ '^ '«« the g "at Museum ^ Th*^ •"'^*' =«^"
the Nile was lostoon^ nnfii " ^^e journey up
pleasant break anTS stLT '"'""• ^' ^^ a
reader who was wellarm.niif ^^' • ^ "'°^* omnivorous
and theology, the ODD^S'' T^ ^«^Pti«" history
Bastin that^risUan^r^^Tm^r w^'"f *° P^°^e to
ancient Egyptian f aiZ tL^'^ development of the
may be imagined. It never ^/Sf"^"** ^^at ensued
of them that all faiths mlv be »n^^ 5° ^'"' '° ^'t^er
progressive; in short h1^» ^"'^ '"'^^^'l probably are
from the various tSs tuhTL^r °^ 'h' '^^°^^
these are shone upon by the Ln nf t"^'.!^'' ^ '" turn
^ Our passage down tL RpH S °' ^"""th-
able. Thence^we shaped our - ^^ ""^ -°^ ^"'^ ^&'««-
again we stopped a mtleThile Jo' ^°' ^y^°"- "ere
and to visit the ruined citvoT An • '"" "P to Kandy
Buddhist topes that one? li^^^'^^^P'''.^ ^'th its great
argument be?;een my^wo Bs'^T/'^' to relifious
struck^ac^ss the Indian c5S^or"Sln%"te7^
njo/t o?ft 'uteS'' fcr ^^' °"^ -^> -e -ade
Captain Astley wm a ,^;v,hI ^''"'- ^^ ^^''^ not dull as
the melanchol? K.Kbse^P'"'?'/"'^ «^«" °" of
He insisted -n^oWiVSees' irthe^'' entertainment.
46 *^^''"'' at which
J
the usual
iThe Cyclone
47
wailed out tunes above oit-^^^'^w^,.^^"^ accordion
droveBickleytoakind Jr^nH ■''^•. ^•'u*'^^ happenings
which he coi^ld not explain H.' ^°' ^"^ ^^'' ^^^"^
someone was plavinir^Hrir" "t *as convinced that
most elaborate YnaL to hI?"" ^'H"' *"*^ ^^^'^^d the
without result! ''^'^' ^'^^ ^8^"^, entirely
and'^tSn'L" wTo'laWed "' Tn'^h"^^ h^T '"^'^-"'.
I left the "circ"° and S; ..K*''^ end Jacobsen and
behind us; only Bastin and BiSl'"' '^''"^ -^^^ '""^^ed
the dark. Presently we W^i.^ remaining there in
Bickley emerged looldL,„ ^°""^s«f altercation, and
by Bitin'wKfsLyln?^ "' '" ^^'^ ^-«' ^°"o-ed
snatched" %^ye=s'"?hfch"^' '^ "°" -<'
useless to you when Xrt • ' '""ch anyhow are quite
possible for me skHni^^fn II "° t^^^ ^ ^gain, is it
to have placed the confertinion""''' i'^'J'^ ^'^^"^''>«.
play the National AmhPmn °P-^°'''^^^'i and made it
slightest idea how to do ?^' '' ''""^ '^^' ^ ^«^« "ot the
wh,ch no doubt you think a goc^ joke "'"^ "'^ '°'"^^°^'
. My dear fellow," I interrunt^ ";c :
■ma^me old Basil deceiviirgTnTonl? » " " P°^^""« "^
deceiJr'LmTelf fro^S ye^afed /'^fr ^ .*^«* •>«
"I think," said B^in'^ "thf.l?*^*°'''"?"
business and th7t we S hoth ^ ^'^'u ^" ""''^'X
I will have no IrTto do w-th h ""ald^L^H^ "^'^^
to his cabin, probably to sav ™ ^^'^^'^
prayers. -^ ^^^^ so"'^ appropriate
difficul,, pe JSSey »1™ if ' whthVd". t*
-row a„T^re„ts.r.w„i orpi^?:?^j,s
'^1
^« When the World Shook
Will the Doctor look ? " MJd Jacobsen " PArh=„=
the smnts have told him somethini/' ^"^^^
«..s^,,,don., you .|„y ai,.,, wMik^Slf";:
Arbuthnot." ** "^^P'^- ^"7 again, Mr.
The Cyclone
read the answer aIoud-"To A, B the^ and B fhe C
Uie most remarkable things will happen hat havihaS
P«"ed to men luing in the world." ^
the/eI?At-Tsa"id":^i^S ''^ ^^^^ »-*"
/ollfc»;^
h.s eyes begm to start from his head. Then suddenly
J^S' mf^rh'" P'^'^'l ^^''^'^ '^^ thrust TntoS
pocKet. Liftmg his great fist he uttered some Dani<!h
ragm^ms"'SteVSl,'"r '""^i'^^^ 'he Shette' 5
iiagmenis, alter which he strode awav leavinrr mo
astonished and somewhat disturbed. \V^'en I mefhh^
"Oh ,"r'"^Jl "^''?^,^''" ^•'^^^ was on the p?pJr
Oh! he said quietly, "something I should nrt
Ike you too-proper English gentlemens to see &,m^
thmg not nice. You understand. Tho^^oirite n^
always good; they do that kind of thin? Simes
That s why I broke up this planchette." ^ '^'^^'^''s-
the maner'lnder *° *'" °' "'"^''^'"^^ ^'^ -<J *"«
nt.tL^i"'.!!''' ''V* ^'*^ *''^*' principally with a view to
putting themselves m a position to confute each other
and S '"' ^^'^ ''^"""^ ^1°"" Marseilles boThslStin
and Bickley spent a number of hours each daf "
Sr%fhi^ ""^ the language of the sJuth^Sea
S to w- v?"=r?/ V"** °^ f ""petition between them
^thnLiT ''.•^°"'^ learn the most. Now Bastin,
although simple and even stupid in some ways was a
good scholar, and as I knew'^at college, had qu^te a
S%,?rl^'^"'""« languages in which'he had tLken
nigh marks at examinations. Bickley, too. was an
SSSv"""h^ "^'" P"''-"" ^-''h «" ex^c^lffmemo^
especially when he was on his mettle. The resUlt wis
JtoSn ° I- ^^f '^?^.^^ ^ South Sea island they h^
a good working knowledge of the local tongues.
i!
50 When the World Shook
;narvenous sculptures th^flJe'stp^t^d trKe ?!,£
The Cyclone
ofapre-historicrace In tmth u
plan except to goJeZ'h^°^^''"'^^^'^<^'^oBxtd
might take us. Chance r™ *^"^""'stance and chance
missionaries, each of them ^***°"' '''^ ^o^k of the
conclusions f rom the°Lme ™ t oS^.'^T '^ °ZP<^^
we steamed to Samoa and ^l admitted facts. Thence
Apia, where we pToTufed ^ °"' *,*%".?^'^«s ^'hore at
long enough in tS'sh^L^^^^- ■^'^ ^^'^ "ot stay
ever, because per^s^^J^riZTT'^ *^^'"' ^ow^
from certain familiar signs that on^". ^'^ ^"^ed us
ranes with which they are «fflj^r!,°^ ^^^ *«'""ble hurri-
shortly and that we should rfn^'^',.'^^^ ^"« ^ arrive
beyond its reach. So havfne coSl *° J?"' ^^'^^'^es
tfeparted in a hurry ^ '^"^'^^ »nd watered we
n.osVCie'4r^,^J SStV' ''^^ "« -■* the
fo ffopd indeed that never on o'.* "*"«.'• °^ ^«ther.
left Marseilles, had we been «?Kr ^°^''^'°" since we
on the table. Whh «,e snn.rcr '^^'^ P P"' the fiddly
Astley, when I alluded to^h! "'°? °^ ^ ^"o"" CapSfn
s?ymg that douK wl sh 1 iTn^' f^°°^ '"■^S
since "luck never goes afl the »« K*^ I""" '' '«ter on,
reported to be abofr "^ """^ «"d cyclones were
wasXoieTeTtS; tK!f;;h";r« ^J-^ °^ Apia, ft
to be in his cabin unwell from so^ef^^'^V" '"'"ewd
, was missing. The ouestinn J "'^'''.^"fi^ ^^ had eaten
put back to find hfm^as ie surotJ'^K*''^^ ^^ shou"d
I a .trip inland and met wilh «„ „W *''«t he had made
I wise delayed. I was in favour o?h'"*' "' ^""^ "ther-
«Ptain, thinking of the tCL° '^?"l^ ^ though the
h.s head and said that Jacobsenw^^^^ ''""''="."^' ^^ook
, "?'Rht iust as well have gone oTfrK ^"f^*- ^e"ow who
else, if he thought he h^J"tLZ-^"'^ as anywhere
, f fond." calli^p hL WhHe 71'''' ?! ^'""» '^e wal
-Pense I hap^^ned to g^„t ^ Z'^ZZ^^l^^
;i
52 When the World Shook
there, stuck in the looking-glass, saw an envelope in the
Dane's handwriting addressed to myself. On opening
it I found another sealed letter, unaddressed, also a note
that ran as follows :
"Honoured Sir,
"You will think very badly of me for leaving you,
but the enclosed which I implore you not to open until
you have seen the last of the Star of the South, will
explain my reason and I hope clear my reputation. I
thank you again and again for all your kindness and
pray that the Spirits who rule the world may bless and
preserve you, also the Doctor and Mr. Bastin."
This letter, which left the fate of Jacobsen quite
unsolved, for it might mean either that he had deserted
or drowned himself, I put away with the enclosure in my
pocket. Of course there was no obligation on me to
refrain from opening the letter, but I shrank from doing
so both from some Kind of sense of honour and, to tell
the truth, for fear of what it might contain. I felt that
this would be disagreeable; also, although there was
nothing to connect them together, I bethought me of
the scene when Jacobsen had smashed the planchette.
On my return to the deck I said nothing whatsoever
about the discovery of the letter, but only remarked
that on reflection I had changed my mind and agreed
with the captain that it would be unwise to attempt to
return in order to look for Jacobsen. So the boatswain,
a capable individual who had -»en better days, was
promoted to take his watches and ./e went on as before.
How curiously things come about in the world I For
nautical reasons that were explained to me, but which
I will not trouble to set down, if indeed I could remem-
ber them, I believe that if we had returned to Apia we
should have missed the great gale and subsequent
cyclone, and with these much else. But it was not so
fated.
It was on the fourth day, when we were roughly
seven hundred miles or more north of Samoa, that we
met the edge of this gale about sundown. The captain
The Cyclone
on. an^by efeven o'cSk^f i"c' '""*' ^j"" '*"« '^d'"
do to stand in the rJhi^ uT'u" '""'='' " one could
freely over the d^^F;,,'!'''"*; ',*"= ^"^^ *"» *«hing
veered more aft of us J ?h«"h '"'y' .^°*T^' '^'^ *'"*
a little («a^eV °UX Jem'^ifj"*^^^^^^^ her head
as a landlubber) we ran almn« t^/ H.°' *^"* matters
indeed'Tnd* theK'warutt«lvT '"°*'"^ /"^ »'-''
n? glimpse of the^suTor oT L "aT i'n'fhe'r.r ^°'
night, Unfortunaf#ilv ti,-,I °" '™ following
deld. if thVre had be^'. I H '^ "° '"°°'' ^'^ible; in-
have helped us b«:au'i fu Ik- f"P'^''*^ '^^^ '^ wo"Id
quite 7eventy.?wo ho^ °L?^ "^ ^u*" °^ '^'°"*'»- ^"o^
before that LI The ii«l/*" °" beneath bare poles
riding the sels l/ke a duck 'bu.T.' ^fhaved splen(^ly,
Astley was erowinVfllar^J Sir?"''',^'^'' ^^''^ Captain
c< ^'plimentarv to l?^^m ^kT^.k^'"''! ^ ^'^^ something
#> »i"'"fniary to nim about the conduct of thp ?*/.. Jt^
asked h,m to have a n,p of whisky to warm him up. and
54 When the World Shook
r?.m h^if '.^''Jr »»tHe and, to my ararm, poured out
HilulL^" '"'"'''^' *>' »P'"'' *'"«^'' he swafiowed on-
diluted in two or three gulps.
"That's better l" he said with a hoarse laujrh. "But
man, what is it vou are saying about having run o-' of
thewmd? Look at the glass!" *
.t«w„ ^'''l' **J** ^^"'"' "*"<* 't Is wonderfully
^n ^" ft^^^ 29 degrees or a little over, which it has
been for the last three days."
answil-ed •"^^'^^ laughed in a mirthless fashion, as he
»nJ2'''J''^' L'''"*^' Thrt's the passengers' glass. I
^„, K- / ?te*ard to put it out of gear so that you might
hVr^J"^^^'"''"^ 'A '" ^" °''* '"''^- Look at this," and
he produced one of .portable variety out of his ^cktt
^•crl '05'*ef^""J 't stood somewhere between a?
degrees and 28 degrees. '
"That's the lowest glass I ever saw in the Polynesian
or any other other seas during thirty years I°?St
too, for I have tested it by three othefs,'^' he said. ^ '
"Wi! i°^^ " r^"?"J asked rather anxiously.
"That cur.S'nf^^ u"*" °^*'"' ^°"' ^'^'"^•" ^* '■'Piied.
Jutl ^K I- "« ''"^^ '^ **s coming and that's why
he left the ship. P.ay as you never prayed before "3
bfttle ^uI'Vl^"^ TJ' hand tSwiS, the whisk?
bottle. But I stepped between him and it, shaking my
th^ihil ""tk" ^l 't''"«^'"'^ ^°^ *he third time anf ffi
tt!« '' "• ^H?"«^ ^'^^ him once or twice afterward^
these were really the last words of intelligible conveJ^'
tion that I ever had with Captain Astley. '=°"^'="»-
It seems that we are in some danger," said Bastin
m an unmoved kind of way. "I thinf that was aS
Klea of the captain's, to put up a petition, I mean^
^ Bickley will scarcely care to join in it w^l go into
the cabin and do so myself." *^
Bickley snorted, then said :
"Confound that captain I Why did he olav such n
rJfLT"K'i\**'°"J .*''•' barometer? Humphrey I
believe he had been drinking." umpnrrj , j
The Cyclone
"So do I » 1 .A I . • ~ ^'
"Otherwi*., ^f,e ukfnJ'l^ol"/"' "*' ^^''^y Motile.
on »rwtt\^"s'hSS "Jf' -» ^''-'^ ^o
a breath o wind was stlrS anf ' ^° T '^"'- >^«
0 be settling down a S Af T'^? '*'*' «^ seamed
from the motion, for we coulH n » ''^*'' ^ *<= Judged
sky; everything was as bkr J o ° ^^'^ ^'^^" it or the
sapors howeve^Tnga'd in ri' <?""'• ^^^ ^eard the
and . t, and battenfnf down fh^e L^k*'' '°P" ^""-^
tarp- .Iins by the liahf ^t i ^ hatches with extra
putting ropes^oundfh S^ats"and"H • ""^^ »'"^' ""'
'he spa.s and topmasts! '^ ''°'"8^ something to
^nlsffS^d^SLJ'^'r^'' -' "-ing. I 3uppose.
't came a hissinKunS fnH ''51'k^'' •'^'^ f'"*""- W S
no wind, the rigling Seean 1"'"'°"8^'' '^«^« was st 11
V-'""? in pain^A f if l^o nf '"°^" "^y^^iously l^e
J^es into mj. pipe Jlf/^^P ?/-«/" also fell fro^ .^e
sailors cr.ed m a hoarse voice' ^''*" «"« of the
out to^2a'r " ''''°"' ^°^"-". ""less you want to .o
:: Why?" inquired B,3tin.
Coding .3 thoS^.£--s^.a.:^-^;Sis;"-
I '.
56 When the World Shook
Bastin seemed inclined to remonstrate at this sort of
language, but we pushed him down the companion and
followed, propelhng the spaniel Tommy in front of us.
iNext moment I heard the sailors battening the hatch
with hurried blows, and when this was done to their
satisfaction, heard their feet also as they ran into shelter
Another instant and we were all lying in a heap on
tne cabin floor with poor Tommy on top of us. The
cyclone had struck the ship I Above the wash of water
and the screaming of the gale we heard other mysterious
sounds, which doubtless were caused by the yards hittine
the seas, for the yacht was lying on her side. I thought
that all was over, but presently there came a rendine
crashmg noise. The masts, or one of them, had gone
and by degrees we righted.
that'?" *" *^'"^ ' " ^^''' ^''^'''^y- "^°°^ heavens, what's
I listened, for the electric light had temporarily gone
out, owing, I suppose, to the dynamo having stopped
for a moment. A most unholy and hollow sound was
rising from the cabin floor. It might have been caused
by a bullock with its windpipe cut, trying to get its
breath and groaning. Then the light cai^e on again
and we saw ^Bastin lying at full length on the carpw.
He s broken his neck or something," I said.
Bickley crept to him and having looked, sang out :
It s all right I He's only sea-sick. I thought it
would come to that if he drank so much tea."
Sea-sick," I said faintly— "sea-sick?"
'That's all," said Bickley. "The nerves of the
stomach acting on the brain or vice-versa— that is. if
Bastin has a brain," he added sotto voce.
that^Pwe're f^d I "' *'' ''"''''''' '='*^^«"- "' -'^^
"Don't trouble about that," answered Bicklev "I
SV" " ^°" ""'" ^^' "^'^' ^"""^ ^°'"'' ^^'^^' 5'°"
Bastin sat up and obeyed, out of the bottle, for it
was impossible to pour anything into a glass, with
results toe dreadful to narrate. ^
The Cyclone
^bii^;'^^;^!^ trick," he said
57
..- voice, glowering aVBTckle"y ^^'^ P^^^ntly, in a
-% weTh'^gtS^^^^^^^^^^ begun
w?^got him intfhis cabin Itv?'"^ '°.'''"- ^omeC
and as he could drini n^.K^ ^ °P*"^^ off the saloon
to inject morphia or^S°',h'Cfhe'?°'''' ^'"^'^y "^^^"^
think}U^Vbowoffh^vessel'wfi"'^\°•■'''"^• «"d I
seas for instead of rolW wf d trhp/"* ^^\^ °" 'o the
stood first upon one end and fh.n ^' "■■ J'"^^'" 'be ship
continued for a while umirthlfi "?.°" '^^ o'ber. This
had gone by. rEen suddenlv th^ '■ °^ '^^ '^y'='°"«
suppose that they had broken W^n. k"^',"^* stopped; I
and we seemed to veer about n1' ^"' ' P^^' ^^^rned,
process, and to run before the hLrrf.'^ ^'"'''"? '" the
Bick/eyl^^"^- where wVt'"--- -""/^^^^^^
-Plied^ira moiteS^;,SThtTH^''"^^'-- ■' "e
him use, adding .- "hood-hvJ^i^u ' ^^'^ often heard
riends, havenn we, ^twrhsUnd^-^^' ""^ ''"^^ ''^«" »*«'
I only w sh that I could tfikth'ff' "^ P^""«""«-
m Bastm's views. But I can"t lrL^^'% f^ anything
for us poor creatures ! " ' ^ ''^" *' ^^ « good night
CHAPTER VI
LAND
At last the electric light really went out. I had looked
at my watch just before this happened and wound it up,
which, Bickley remarked, was superfluous and a waste
of energy. It then marked 3.20 in the morning. We had
wedged Bastin, who was now snoring comfortably, into
his berth, with pillows, and managed to tie a cord over
him— no. It was a large bath towel, fixing one end of it
to the little rack over his bed and the other to its f^'ame-
work. As for ourselves, we lay down on the floor be-
tween the table legs, which, of course, were screwed, and
the settee, protecting ourselves as best we were able by
help of the cushions, etc., between two of which we
thrust the terrified Tommy who had been sliding up and
down the cabin floor. Thus we remained, expectine
death every moment till the light of day, a very dim
light, struggling through a port-hole of which the iron
cover had somehow been wrenched off. Or perhaos it
was never shut, I do not remember.
About this time there came a lull in the hellish,
howling hurricane; the fact being, I suppose, that we
had reached the centre of the cyclone. I sugeested that
we should try to go on deck and see what was happening.
So we started, only to find the entrance to the companion
so faithfully secured that we could not by any
means get out. We knocked and shouted, but iio one
answered. My belief is that at this time everyone on
drow^nS* ^""^^^^ ourselves had been washed away and
Then we returned to the saloon, which, except for a
httle water trickling about the floor, was marvellously
dry, and, being hungry, retrieved some bits of food and
.■58
Land ,
SSeXn^o'SL^a^ln'l;^^ H^'^ -^--t the
seemed to us, from anothef dLcHn^ '^^\T'' ^""^ '^
our poor derelict barque It bfe^anCliSt^' '* ^P'^"
I grew utterly weary and evpn io„ J^ "' ^°' "^^ Pat
end. If m/ view7 were nm ^?^»'*' u ""^ '"e/itable
certainly they werl noTtho Jnf 5" u? "'<'?^ "^ B«tin,
from my youth uo that t^-^'"'-^^.*- ^ *»«<» believed
ego. so Vspeak^does not Hi", "k'^"^ v7 °^ "'^"' the
his poor body, and this faitSHiw''"" T ^°^ °"' "^
Therefore, I wished tJ have i^o^r a"„°H f^"" T 'h^"'
might be upon the other side '^'■" '^''** *here
the Sind°but BickCdid "m"' ''^'^"^^ «^ »^« fowling of
thin^ to' the effect%£ lT^rl° ='^°"* '^ >"« ^o^e!
opinTon, make an end of the r ^.it^T .'^°"''^.' '" ^is
years, which, he added, was a n^Jv ?'"„^^T7'*'''" **°
not caring twopence wh^.f ^h^" ^ "folded my head,
partners oftheir bushiest 'J^PP'"^ *° Bickley's
anything else Whin d'^^t *° ""^ °*" Property, or to
not think much Xch th L' k' ''""^ l"°« °^ "« do
how small they are InHpin^f ^^^^""^ *hen we realise
within a few minu es or hou^s T' ,T"^\""^ ^^ether
Natalie again, and if ?his we^ fh« "'^ °' ^'j.*?"'*^ "°t see
seemed to^eckon me in'th^d^eam '° "'"'^'^ ^'^^ ^^'^
we °hea^^ Sds "f^om ' B^^S t"b^ ''" *'h^ f «">-"
reminded me of some t.m« ? *^^'"" *hich faintly
listened. EvidenU^ he h.H . \"^^1 ^° '^e door and
or trying to W L^nn.t ^''^"^ ^"'^ *«s singing
poin\'?For thole "pTrif on th'e S »"d°' ''1 4."^
wish that it mipht he h^r^ d . Pevoutly did I
suppose he w^ert^sleep^alain'^'''""'^ " '"^'^' «> '
somlthintSlf tp'e'ned"" Th"- '^''^" °^ ^ -^'^^n
noises of\ kind had S heird -V"' stupendous
sions. It seemed tn T.c *h^..u[- ' *"^'* '^c™ convul-
into the airirnrd^2t7r';f^P was flung right up
Ali;«''^''u' ^ "P^"^*'" shouted Bicklev
Almost as he spoke she came downS the most
■1
r
], i
60 When the World Shook
app^ling crash on to something hard and nearly jarred
the senses out of us. Next the saloon was whi'lins
I li»J ^'°-?^'"^ "P°" "^- T'^en our senses left us. As
1 Clasped lommy to my side, whimpering and lickine
my face, my last thought was that all was over, andthat
presently I should learn everything or nothing
cmJ.J^^u': rPK^^^''"% ^^ry bruised and sore and per-
ceived hat light was flowing into the saloon. The d(X)r
7^ fh'i '''"'• ^"' •^^^f. ^^" wrenched^ff its S?ng^'
SiS ,m fh '^'^ K^u'"^' J^^eed aud splintered, were
fmn^^t! "P through the carpet. The table had broken
from Its fastenmgs and lay upon its side. Everything
else was one confusion. I look^at Bickley. AppSf
he had not awakened. He was stretched out still wedce^
m with h,s cushions and bleeding from a wound in ht
dead' Ir^' u •"!!!••" '"'°' anilistened. He wa^ no?
dead, for hi, breathmg was regular and natural. The
whiskv bottle which had been corked was uponThe floor
Z ?ilr> ^?'' ^''°Ht « third full. I took a food puK
«ie spirit; to me it tasted like nectar from the eods
Then I tned to force some down Bickley'T thrLt bui
could not, so I poured a litde upon the cut on W^head
1 he smart of it woke him in a hVrry. ^*'-
Where are we now?" he exclaimed. You don't
mean to tell me that Bastin is right after ^11 and "ha°we
SgnS;."^'"'"''"''^^' Oh! I could never bJarS
",il^ '^°u^ ^"°^. "^°"t living somewhere else," I said
although my opinions on that matter differ ir^ yZl'
But I do know that you and I are still on earth in what
remams of the saloon of the Star of the South"
I hank God for that ! Let's go and look for oW
Bastin," said Bickley. "I do pra/that het\i°rigK
"It is most illogical of you, Bickley, and indeed
rffi e^oanecl a ^cep voice from the other s"de of ^e
cabin door, "to thank a God in Whom you do not be!
Land 6j
in prayer." * servants when you have no faith
B^J.°V^"^' "7 ^"«''^'" I said-
nobly, someth ne like a 2a^o i^ ^^'^ «'°od the strain
was Bastin mosf of whn«T S^P™^"' over a linen line,
with his /ngers ^''^ ^ '="'^°'y examination
all ;;S""^ ''''''''''" "^^ -id triumphantly. "He's
be kind enough to untfe me ' ^ P'' ^°" ""^"'^
is -SiL;t'eS^'^^Kihir'r\*'i^•"^- --^
handed him^heremains''o?th:';:'h'U';:"'^ ^"^' ^"^ »•«=
thingTouHSra mtre^^fne'f^^Cr"'"^^ -"-
"one of the Pauline iniunlZ^a , stomach's sake,
he was much more cSuITh ^°" ^1°"^' ^^^" '^hich
found some more Sl^he bi Jut^^In'^^r'' f ''^"^ ^"d
which we filled ourselvLs afS Sshion °"^'' ^°°^ ^''^
suppL^^ht^ht^s'^o^h^eTk^^"^?;:-'^^ «--, "I
after all reached the haven whirf we%S'"be »' '^"^
the'SL'n^ ffilih'liras'^ir ^^'^^-wards
wrenched off its hKs h^ Ll L^"^Z ^^'^ ''«'"
wider than when I ob^^rVed t ff AIs!,°T ""' °P^\^
was recovering his spirits. utterSa se^SoHoT/;.:?"
It .s a most curious thing," he wint on. -^a^dT^^
' M
(i
62 When the World Shook
l^/Zf • ^ """f'^Vng from hallucinations, but I could
swear that just now I saw looking through that dooVthP
^VZ^'^^'f y°"!!^ *'^^" cIothe^Ta few flowSs
and H&us tAl'^"^ photograph in that abomS e
tXesS^cuTvoJa^e .""" '"^'""'^ '''' ^^^ <>' °-
"Indeed ! " replied Bickley. "Well, so Ion? as sh^
has notgot on the broken-down stays and^hesfl^tSn
Anny bonnet without a crown, which you may reme° -
fraternkvTnm'" ''^f^'' ^""''" '"'° '^e hand^s ofTo"r
traternity, I am sure / do not mind. In fact I should he
delighted to see anything so pleasant."
ar«^* ( moment a distinct sound of female titterinc-
arose from beyond the door. Tommy barked and
to be me^ L ^k"' "!f" ^'■^ ^°'"^" there are sure
to be men. Let us be ready against accidents."
so we armod ourselves with pistols, that is Birkl^v
and I did, Bastin bein^ fortified LlelywiJh a BibS^
tri J ^ r ^'^^a""^ a remarkable and dilaSted
tr o, and dragged the door wide. Instantly there w^Ia
scurry and we caught sight of women's forms welrine
sand towards groups of men armed with odd-looking
clubs, sonie of which were fashioned To thrshaSs of
S^tH*' "P"*''-. "^^ '"«''« «" impression I Sred two
«5h l^'^*" "7 !;r^°'^'^' '"'° '''^ «i^ whereupon lx,th men
«W R.vJ ^°" * ^em to be accustomed to white people "
f.^n K^ 7- ^? '*. P"^'**'* that we have found a shore
upon which no missionary has set a foot ? "
r nm fc'?i:" ^'"^ ^^^*'."' "*^^'"& that unworthy as
gr^" opportunities for me would be very
We stood still and looked about us. This was what
we ^w All the after part of the ship from fomard of
o5'it l!f h^^H*^ ^^'^''^"^ "!'"'y' ^here waTnot a face
of it; she had as it were been cut in two. More we
were some considerable distance from the sea wWch'wII
st.ll ragmg over a quarter of a mile away wherLgr^^
Land
63
covered with earth a^dteffetatin?P"^"'^.°^ '"^'^ but
in which the prow of th^E w^' l^^^.^f^'nst thiscliflF,
remained of her had ri?mi » ^ ^ ''"/'«'*« «*>«. <>«• wha
"You see wC h^Tann.TH"^^°'t.'''''«^'t''ne.
tidal wave has «^r/ied^s ud&,' h^ ^'^- "^ ^eat
"That's i> » 1 I • "P "®'^ o"d retreated."
d^bri?.1n'dhepS:^to^o?fun^^^''^^^^^ '^^ the
seaweed piled into helps wh ch ^iU S""'!. ''"*'''* «"<*
vaguil^"It"isT;ue^"hT[^^^^^^^^ looking about him
they a/e drowned no doibt^t is h^^ ^"^ °l *•''*'"' ''"t ^^
usefulness in this worS had ende'd*^' ""^ ''^'^ P"'°^ °^
being^^'n^il^sS^aToid^rurl^SatullIt^'' ' ^-^^^d.
ran diagonally u7the"deoTn r^^^l'-l * ^^'^ ^^ich
more than fifty o? sixty ft^t in hilr^"^^ "^^^ "°*he«
once formed the shore of thii, i^''*' ^"'^ Possibly had
lake. Up thi^ path we went Si "'-P^'^^P^ that of a
many human feet an^ r«!.K-' ^°"°^'nfi: the tracks of
look^ about us?baskinJ« r^^-^ "."t «f the cliff,
morning sun, for the skv 171^"^ f '" 9"^ beautiful
with thit last awfu effort whf.h T f ''^^^"^ ^'°"^s and
cyclone had passed away' "^ **^''™>'«* °"' ^^ip, the
streSf TioTZir wherS'" T^°"" "i"'^'^ '«" * "ttle
we following WsMamoTeT^ 7^°"'^l ^'^"'^ &'«edily,
plain, furthfrthan^rctldlitrar^^^^^^^^
64
When the World Shook
which towered many palms, rather ragged now because
of the lashing of the gale. Looking inland we perceived
that the ground sloped gently downwards ending at a
distance of some miles in a large lake. Far out in this
lake something like the top of a mounuin of a brown
colour rose above the water, and on the edge o' it was
what from that distance appeared to be a tumbled ruin.
"This is all very interesting," I said to Bickley.
" What do you make of it ? "
" I don't (juite know. At first sight I should say that
we are standmg on the lip of a crater of some vast ex-
tinct volcano. Look how it curves to north and south
and at the slope running down to the lake."
I nodded.
"Lucky that the tidal wave did not get over the
cliff," I said. "If it had the people here would have all
been drowned out. I wonder where they have gone ? "
As I spoke Bastin pointed to the edge of the bush
some hundreds of yards away, where we perceived brown
figures slipping about among the trees. I suggested
that we should go back to the mouth of our path, so as
to have a line of retreat open in case of necessity, and
await events. So we did and there stood still. By de-
grees the brown figures emerged on to the plain to the
number of some hundreds, and we saw that they were
both male and female. The women were clothed in
nothing except flowers and a little girdle; the men were
all armed with wooden weapons and also wore a girdle
but no flowers. The children, of whom there were
many, were quite naked.
Among these people we observed a tall person
clothed in what seemed to be a magnificent feather cloak,
and, walking around and about him, a number of gro-
tesque forms adorned with hideous masks and basket-
like head-dresses that were surmounted by plumes.
"The king or chief and his priests or medicine-men I
This is splendid," said Bickley triumphantly.
Bastin also contemplated them with enthusiasm as
raw material upon which he hoped to get to work.
By degrees and very cautiously they approached us.
Land
65
To our joy, we perceived that behind them walked
several young women who bore wooden trays of food or
fruit.
"That looks well," I said. "They would not make
offerings unless they were friendly."
"The food may be poisoned," remarked Bickley
suspiciously. ''
The crowd advanced, we standing quite still looking
as dignified as we could, I as the tallest, in the middle
with Tommy sitting at my feet. When they were about
five and twenty yards away, however, that wretched
little dog cauffht sight of the masked priests. He
growled and then rushed at them barking, his long
black ears flapping as he went.
The effect was instantaneous. One and all they
turned and fled precipitately, who evidently had never
before seen a dog and looked upon it as a deadly
creature. Yes, even the tall chief and his masked
medicine-men fled like hares pursued by Tommy who bit
one of them in the leg, evoking a terrific howl. I called
him back and took him into my arms. Seeing that he
was safe for a while the crowd re-formed and once aeain
advanced. "
As they came we noted that they were a wonderfully
handsome people, tall and straight with regularly shaped
features and nothing of the negro about them. Some of
the young women might even be called beautiful, though
those who were elderly had become corpulent. 1^
feather-clothed chief, however, was much disfigured by
a huge growth with a narrow stalk to it that hung from
his neck and rested on his shoulder.
•J' n" h^^'^ '''** °^ ^''" ^fore he is a week older,"
said Bickley surveying this deformity with great pro-
fessional interest. » t-
On they came, the girls with the platters walkine
ahead. On one of these were what looked like joints of
baked pork, on another some plantains and pear-
shaped fruits. They knelt down and offered these to us.
We contemplated them for a while. Then Bickley shook
his head and began to rub his stomach with appropriate
i
I
66 When the World Shook
fo"!h?yT;th?S 'a7 *"* 1"ick.ni„ded enough
portions of the fa,5 afha^rH -'!f' .*''2 '°^'' ''°'n '»«"'
"Orofena." ""oerstood him and answered:
is,an|n^/ae?^^^i!'-^' °' « '''" ^" -
The n°n!n/°"' ^^'^ ' " ""^^^ B«tin again.
who fights." ^ *^''"^^ answerecf, "Oro. He
«"t"J^!I'"-'^°''*^^' ^"^'" said Bickley.
same'sllw fEj.°" ' *""" °"^'" ^^'^ ^^tin in the
Thinking that he referred to himself thes,. Mu
of Nature contemplated his flnrrniTr/ ^ children
and shook their heads Then ?of he J'L™,.d°"btfully
the men who was wearine a malk «nH , "• .*'""' *»"*' ^^
his head, spoke in a hollfw%rce L"ying""''' "*'« °"
"you try Oro will eat you up."^ ^ "
Basti"aKb;Siu?'othr "^^'-"^ -e. "Old
him and call th^ Oro's " """ ^'^^ ''"' *«'^'' ''«<>
Another pause, after which the man in a feather
Land
67
si^S.rSg/s'ai/™*^' °" "'■» "^^'^ that a servant wa,
nevi'/seTn STke' A* ,3^"^ "J Oro.-.. We have
brought you here a^d ^fth vou ^h^-fi ""• ^oat
SSp-'-I. or evil ,p.u\ffi tie^^no^' iS
"^kelm'l"^ -"^ ^^ - - re" "* "-J"^'- ^
„ Xhe gods of the wind and the sea »
such Sir""-'" ^i-uIated'^B^^n, -,,,,, „, „^
"Shut up," I «aiH ",.,_
Which he replied .' *""** "^^ similes here," to
, ''Rememii'/rpiuL'indTP.^' 'T.'V'' '"^ ^^"'h."
"OurXroTtciS us^'an rbo?.~"""^'" ^'^ ^ar^ma.
we wish that you would rnm«' ^°" * "oo" ago. But
washed awayC ^7 ™ '"°'' ^""^' «« ^^^ "«"'y
After lookinif at me fiickley replied •
we ha^vHpl'S'/o^i.^''-'^ ^- "^ ^^- in our kindness
^^. What do you come to do?" i„q„i,ed Marama
^nsteZ:""" "■''"^' ^°"""'« ^^ consulting me Bickley
off 'y^J neTaSl mle^lTauSul ^ --"' '^P)
and g.ve you many Jiv^^-^ ^.^^^ta^.J worsh^^3;ou
68
When the World Shook
hands in horror.) "When will you b«gin to take away
the lumps?" / * /
"To-morrow," said Bickley. "But learn that If you
try to harm us we will bring another wave which will
drown all your country."
Nobody seemed to doubt our capacities in this
direction, but one inquiring spirit in a wicker crate did
ask how it came about that if we controlled the ocean we
had arrived in half a cance instead of a whole one.
Bickley replied to the effect that it was because the
gods always travelled in half-canr , to show their higher
nature, which seemed to satisfy everyc-e. Then we
announced that we had seen enouf;h of them for that day
and would retire to think. Meanwhile we should be
obliged if they would build us a house and keep us
supplied with whatever food they had.
"Do the gods eat?" asked the sceptic again.
"That fellow is a confounded radical," I whispered
to Bickley. "Tell him that they do when they come to
Orofena."
He did so, whereon the chief said :
"Would the pods like a nice young girl cooked ?"
At this point Bastin retire<] down the path, realising
that he had to do with cannibals. We said that we pre-
ferred to look at the girls alive and would meet them
again to-morrow morning, when we hoped that the
house would be ready.
So our first interview with the Inhabitants of Orofena
came to an end, on which we congratulated ourselves.
On reaching the remains of the Star of the South we
set to work to take stock of what was left to us. For-
tunately it proved to be a very great deal. As I think I
mentioned, all the passeneer part of the varht lav for-
ward of the bridge, just In front of which the vessel had
been broken in two, almost as cleanly as though the
were severed by a gigantic knife. Further our stores
were forward and practically everything else that be-
loneed to us, even down to Bickley's Instruments and
medicines and Bastin's religious works, to say nothing
Land
69
boats. Although the«we«.St^„*'*^ f!r° "•'»« "^«^
•nencment of tSe «fe one of th*£.^2*^"'*'u'" '*>* <=<»"-
WM smashed to «Si£re • nrohlhT' "*■' "" ^'»« !»« »'<le.
upon it. The stolboard bSI? h^^ ^""^ *P"^ ''«'• ^«"en
and so far as we could iud^l' ''°*«^"' """""ed intoct
bulwarks were broken ^f waT^"'^' •"''''^"^'' ""
I sail '" ' ^'•""hing we can get away in if .eress..rj, •
"Where to?" remarked Bastin "U.. r • .
where we are or if ther* ic »! u ^*- *^""^ ''"ow
thousand miles think we h/n °w/ '""^ ^^'«'"" «
Providence seems to have tnteS^S*"" "'''K ^''"^ "«
there is so much work to my hS'"' "'^■"^">- ^^"-
your hand dti'norenTi^th!''''';^' "'^' '»>« *«'■'' '«
It is an awkwarS thin J nterferi!,^"*^-.^^ "H ""^ *''«»'«•
savages, and I believe^»h«I^K "*^ '^"'^ ""> "^'ig'on of
Natt^e UetiL'str„/&!.'l1^V."'"*°-'' <^''''3ren of
limbs, "esDecianv'wh.: ""** "® g'anced at hi
how one ^nTXtr/Z'^.'S^l^PlTP^r. ......
som?re'"fi^h"°hyftd'S^ 'f ?"-^ ♦« ^etch
wave and were Ttil flannfn^ k **?''*'' "P ^7 the tidal
water. TherweZ.J'S.nir^ t ' K " ''"'«= P°°' °^ ^^"^
of our circumstanX and f^ , L'f ^* *° '"^'^e ^he best
up the saloon and cabins wh.VK"'' set towork to tidy
remained of the sh?p lav Tn L„ 7*" T j''*^'^"'' «« what
out some neceswrl ifnr« ^ ^"5?" *"*'• ^Iso we got
swinging lamATfhSch^h^'ihf'"^ P?™*^" ^°^ ^^e
accicjint to thfelectrir l^hf . JP *^ ''"«<' '" ^ase of
had brought with us »lh«t;h*'^"''H*?'* ^''^ ?""« we
event of attack. This done bv^th^'^-^ ^ ll^"'^^ '" '^^
sary to keep Cs p A-^^ SS b^Xhe^'i S re^^i^'
i I
70 When the World Shook
"Now," he saia triumphantly when he had finished
and got the lock and bolts to work to his satisfaction,
"we can stand a siege if needed, for as the ship is iron
built they can't even burn us out and that teak door
would take some forcing. Also we can shore it up."
"How about something to eat? I want my tea,"
said Bastin.
"Then, my reverend friend," replied Bickley, "take
a couple of the fire buckets and fetch some water from
the stream. Also collect drift wood of which there is
plenty about, clean those fish and grill them over the
saloon s' >ve."
"I'll try," said Bastin, "but I never did any cookinc
before." ' ^
"No," replied Bickley, "on second thoughts I will
see to that myself, but you can get the fish ready."
So, with due precautions, Bastin and I fetched
water from the stream which we found flowed over
the edge of the cliff quite close at hard into a beautiful
coral basin that might have been designed for a bat ^ f
the nymphs. Indeed one at a time, while the oUier
watched, we undressed and plunged into it, and never
was a tub more welcome than after our long days of
tempest. Then we returned to find that Bickley haa
already set the table and was engaged in frying the fish
very skilfully on the saloon stove, which proved to be
well adapted to the purpose. He was cross, however,
when he found that we had bathed and that it was now
too late for him to do likewise.
While he was cleaning himself as well as he could in
his cabin basin and Bastin was boiling the water for tea,
suddenly I remembered the letter from the Danish mate
Jacobsen. Concluding that it might now be opened as
we had certainly parted with most of the Star of the
South for the last time, I read it. It was as follows :
"The reason, honoured Sir, that I am leaving the
ship is that on the night I tore up the paper, the spirit
controlling the planchette wrote these words : ' After
leaving Samoa the Star of the South will be wrecked
Land ^
A 'B''"and b' ci "'I'^^l^y ?">^'d browned except
be f V^«i r' ?^* °^} °^ ^^'^ ' Get out of her 1 Don't
at once 't&' ""'r? y°" ^^"^ '" come over here
me and called me a sneakine cheat Sn T^™ ^„- .
run away of which I am "fry t^uch Shlm^^^ Zt ?
do not wish to be drowned yet as there isT!j;i ^u
I want ,0 marry and my mSr% support . ^Yo^wiil
Nevef't^TJ learn' th^S"' ''""^ '° '^"-^ ^'^^ ^"^ure.
I gave this letter to Bastin and Bicklev to r^H »„^
asked them what they thought of k ^ ^"'^
^£»a-g-a'21^^--
hJ;o'tKfS^^tfj^^^-;i;^-?^a^r
irt'ed^ '^ """•'^ ''^^^ »'-" --h betted for hTmt'be
never^i-ll'^tn h' '' ^^^^"ter and failed in his duty. I
never wish to hear of him again," I said
As a matter of fact I never havp Rut ♦»,- • j
remains quite unexplained eith" bTBicJle"; o'^bS^"'
1 1
■ I
ii
CHAPTER VII
THE OROFENANS
I O our shame we had a very pleasant supper that night
ott the gnlled fish, which was excellent, and some tinned
meat. I say to our shame, in a sense, for on our com-
panions the sharks were supping, and by rights we
should have been sunk in woe. I suppose that the sense
of our own escape intoxicated us. Also, notwithstanding
his joviality, none of us had cared much for the
captain, and his policy had been to keep us somewhat
apart from the crew, of whom therefore we knew but
little. It IS true that Bastin held services on Sundays, for
such as would attend, and Bickley had doctored a few of
them for minor ailments, but there, except for a little
casual conversation, our intercourse began and ended.
Now the sad fact is that it is hard to be overwhelmed
with grief for those with whom we are not intimate. We
were very sorry and that is all that can be said, except
that Bastin being High Church, announced in a matter-
of-fact way that he meant to put up some petitions for
the welfare of their souls. To this Bickley retorted that
from what he had seen of their bodies he was sure they
needed them. ^
Yes, it was a pleasant supper, not made less so by a
bottle of champagne which Bickley and I shared. Bastin
stuck to his tea, not because he did not like champagne
but because, as he explained, having now come in con-
tact with the heathen it would never do for him to set
them an example in the use of spirituous liquors
"However much we may differ, Bastin, I respect you
for that sentiment," commented Bickley.
..e "' <^«"'* know why you should," an.swered Bastin:
but if so, you might follow mv e.xample."
The Orofenans
whS"4"S„S<fe7JS;5«r' '™^*'"^ ^ our .eak door
excellent waSSf'tolSd u.T^' "''° *^ ^ """^
any rate we took t£ risk^ l1 "^ ^^^'"*' surprise. At
happened, thoueh b^for^H^ -r '"^"^'' °^ ^-''^^^ "othing
dealffor 1 l-eaSim Tutt"he'ri7nt*!;'.*^T' "" ^"^
us a long time as th/^fn.f a J^^^, '''"^'■' ^^ich took
plied the^bath! ^ hit we Sh*^ f '^^^^ '^^ ^^at sup-
supply in cas^ ^ sfege w. St'oTH^'t''^^'. V^^''^
what we should do In Z. U " .'^^^^ ^"^ <lebated
where we were and -liJ ".'' T^ <letermined to stop
out, it was 'necSr^That TSould'^' ^^ ' P?'"'^^
these natives were hostifp nr f • J? ^'^over whether
event we could how our iln T'^^l ^" ^^e former
from it we must be oveLh^V *'"i*''*" 4'P' ^''^^^a" «wav
always time^trmSfve Xd ' '" " '""'^ '''"' "^'^
missiles thrown^ S^ a^ovJe-wTit"!^:^"'^'^' ^^
islanders advancing unon .;= .r! ^u ""'"bers of the
side. They were Sfeced^d««hi?"^K''* ^"^ °" either
food on platters and^nhlt«c°xu''y *°'""" ^^o bore
ing exci.^di;?nd laughb^lSer Sff T-P'^' ^" ♦«"^-
at a distance so w» fX^u ^ ■ ^"^ fashion, stopped
Marama, cladTn his7emher"drk"' 'li"""- •'''■^^"^>'
panied by priests nr ™f^V.- ^''' '''"'' ^'e*'" accom-
down the^pah on"he ci?f^^rr;'"'"'.-''PP"^:;':^ ^'^''^'''S
made salutations ^nd entered fnfon''!!^' '"*"'' "«^ '^'°«^
u^ndtrit^r'''^-=^-^a?r^^K^^^^
exi^^^^liX^^^^V-^^-imas.
f
74 When the World Shook
remain where we were until we were sure of our greeting
and asked him what was the position. He explained that
only once before, in the time of his grandfather, had any
people reached their shores, also during a great storm as
we had done. They were dark-skinned men like them-
selves, three of them, but whence they came was never
known, since they were at once seized and sacrificed to
the god Oro, which was the right thing to do in such a
case.
We asked whether he would consider it right to
sacrifice us. He replied :
Certainly, unless we were too strong, being gods
ourselves, or unless an arrangement could be concluded.
We asked— what arrangement ? He replied that we must
make them gifts; also that we must do what we had
promised and cure him— the chief— of the disease which
had tormented him for years. In that event everything
would be at our disposal and we, with all our belongings,
should become taboo, holy, not to be touched. None
would attempt to harm us, nothing should be stolen
under penalty of death.
We asked him to come up on the deck with only
one companion that his sickness might be ascertainedf,
and after much hesitation he consented to do so. Bickley
made an examination of the growth and announced that
he believed it could be removed with perfect safety as
the attachment to the neck was very slight, but of course
there was always a risk. This was explained to him
with difficulty, and much talk followed between him and
his followers who gathered on the beach beneath the
ship. They seemed adverse to the experiment, till
Marama ^rew furious with them and at last burst into
tears saying that he could no longer drag this terrible
burden about with him, and he touched the growth. He
would rather die. Then they gave way.
I will tell the rest as shortly as I can.
A hideous wooden idol was brought on board,
wrapped in leaves and feathers, and upon it the chief
and his head people swore safety to us whether he lived
or died, making us the guests of their land. There were,
The Orofenans 75
however, two provisos made, or as such we understood
them. These seemed to be that we should offer no insult
or injury to their god, and secondly, that we should not
set foot on the island in the lake. It was not till after-
wards that it occurred to me that this must refer to the
mountain top which appeared in the inland sheet of
water. To those stipulations we made no answer. In-
deed, the Orofenans did all the talking. Finally, they
ratified their oaths by a man who, I suppose, was a head
priest, cutting his arm and rubbing the blood from it
on the lips of the idol ; also upon those of the chief. I
should add that Bastin had retired as soon as he saw
that false god appear, of which I was glad, since I felt
sure that he would make a scene.
The operation took place that afternoon and on the
ship, for when once Marama had made up his mind to
trust us he did so very thoroughly. It was performed
on deck in the presence of an awed multitude who
watched from the shore, and when they saw Bickley
appear in a clean nightshirt and wash his hands, uttered
a groan of wonder. Evidently they considered it a
magical and religious ceremony; indeed ever afterwards
they called Bickley the Great Priest, or sometimes the
Great Healer in later days. This was a grievance to
Bastin who considered that he had been robbed of his
proper title, especially when he learned that among
themselves he was only known as "the Bellower," be-
cause of the loud voice in which he addressed them.
Nor did Bickley particularly appreciate the compliment.
With my help he administered the chloroform, which
was done under shelter of a sail for fear lest the people
should think that we were smothering their chief. Then
the operation went on to a satisfactory conclusion. I
omit the details, but an electric batterv and a red-hot
wire came into play.
"There," said Bickley triumphantly when he had
finished tying the vessels and made everything neat and
tidv with bandages, "I was afraid he might bleed to
death, but I don't think there is anv fear of that now,
for I have made a real job of it." Then advancing ^ith
*
76 When the World Shook
the horrid tumour in his hands he showed it in triumph
to the crowd beneath, who groaned again and threw
themselves on to their faces. Doubtless now it is (he
most sacred relic of Orofena.
When Marama came out of the anaesthetic, Bickley
gave him something which sent him to sleep for twelve
hours, durmg all which time his people waited beneath.
1 his was our dangerous period, for our difficulty was to
persuade them that he was not dead, although Bickley
had assured them that he would sleep for a time while
the magic worked. Still, I was very glad when he woke
up on the following morning, and two or three of his
leading men could see that he was alive. The rest was
lengthy but simple, consisting merely in keeping him
quiet and on a suitable diet until there was no fear of
the wound opening. We achieved it somehow with the
help of an intelligent native woman who, I suppose, was
one of his wives, and five days later were enabled to
present him healed though rather tottery, to his affec-
tionate subjects.
It was a great scene, which may be imagined. They
bore him away in a litter with the native woman to
watch him and another to carry the relic preserved in a
basket, and us they acclaimed as gods. Thenceforward
we had nothing to fear in Orofena— except Bastin
though this we did not know at the time.
All this while we had been living on our ship and
growing very bored there, although we employed the
empty hours in conversation with selected natives
n-^M ^ u'"iPT'il^ °"/ knowledge of the language!
Bickley had the best of it, since already patients began
to arrive which occupied him. One of the first was that
man whom Tommy had bitten. He was carried to us in
an almost comatose state, suffering apparently from the
symptoms of snake poisoning.
Afterwards it turned out that he conceived Tommy
to be a divine but most venomous lizard that could make
a very horrible noise, and began to suffer as one mieht
do from the bite of such a creature. Nothing that
Bickley could do was enough to save him and ultimately
The Orofenans
he died in convulsions, a circumstance that enormously
enhanad Tommy's repuution. To tell the truth, we
took advantage of it to explain that Tommy was in fact
a supernatural animal, a sort of tame demon which only
harmed people who had malevolent intentions towards
those he served or who tried to steal any of their
possessions or to intrude upon them at inconvenient
hours, especially m the dark. So terrible was he, indeed,
that even the skill of the Great Priest, i.e., Bickley, could
not avail to save any whom once he had bitten in his
rage. Even to be barked at by him was dangerous and
conveyed a curse that might last for generations.
All this we set out when Bastin was not there. He
had wandered off, as he said, to look for shells, but as
we knew, to practise religious orations in the Polynesian
toneue with the waves for audience, as Demosthenes is
said to have done to perfect himself as a political orator.
Personally I admit that I relied more on the terrors of
lommy to safeguard us from theft and other troubles
than I did upon those of the native tahoo and the
priestly oaths.
The end of it all was that we left our ship, having
padlocked up the door (the padlock, we explained, was
a magical instrument that bit worse than Tommy), and
moved inland in a kind of triumphal procession, priests
and singers going before (the Orofenans sang extremely
well) and minstrels following after playing upon instru-
ments like flutes, while behind came the bearers carry-
ing such goods as we needed. They took us to a beauti-
tul place in a grove of palms on a ridge where erew
many breadfruit trees," that commanded a view of the
ocean upon one side and of the lake with the strange
brown mountain top on the other. Here in the midst
of the native gardens we found that a fine house had
been built for us of a kind of mud brick and thatched
with palm leaves, surrounded by a fenced courtyard of
beaten earth and having wide overhanging verandahs-
a very comfortable place indeed in that delicious climate!
In It we took up our abode, visiting the ship occasionally
to see that all was wpII there, and awaiting pvent«!
\
^A
I
78 When the World Shook
For Bickley these soon began to happen in the shape
ot an ever.mcreasinj;r stream of patients. The popula-
tion of the island was considerable, anything between
hve and ten thousand, so far as we couW judge, and
among these of course there were a number of sick.
Ophthalmia, for mstance, was a prevalent disease, as
were the growths such as Marama had suffered from to
say nothmg of surgical cases anH those resulting from
accident or from nervous ailme. .3. With all of these
Bickley was called upon to decl, which he did with re-
markable success by help oi his books on Tropical
Dise^es and his ample supplies of medical necessaries.
At first he enjoyed it very much, but when we had
been established in the house for about three weeks he
t'"hwi^'nl*"i,Pr?'"*N-'" * ^^'"^ ^«'' ''°"'s of work,
itU^l !i K-^ ?i*'"^'y ^'^ ^^^ 8^"*'"? ^^ '"'g'^t «s well
be back at his old practice, with the difference that there
he was earning several thousands a year. Just then a
poor woman arrived with a baby in convulsions to whose
necessities he was obliged to sacrifice his supper, after
which came a man who had fallen from a palm tree and
broken his leg.
«t„hnlhf!j* I escape, since having somehow or other
established a reputation for wisdom, as soon as I had
mastered sufficient of the language, every kind of knottv
*^*T*r '.^l^ before me for decision. In short, I became
a sort of Chief Justice— not an easy office as it involved
the acquirement of the native law which was intricate
and peculiar, especially in matrimonial cases.
At these oppressive activities Bastin looked on with
a gloomy eye.
"h„'lT*^=/fi"T ?K*^ very busy," he said one evening;
but I can find nothing to do. They don't seem to want
me, and merely to set a good example by drinking water
^r !^ ^ * ^°" '•'^*"°'^ "^^'^^y «"<J their palm wine,
or whatever it is, is very negative kind of work, espel
cially as I am g;etting tired of planting things in the
garden and playng policeman round the wrwk which
nobody goes near. Even Tommy is better off, for at
least he can bark and hunt rats."
]
The Orofenans 79
''You see," said Bickley, "we are following our
trades. Arbuthnot is a lawyer and acts as a judge. I
am a surgeon and I may add a general — a very general
— ^practitioner and work at medicine in an enormous
and much-neelected practice. Therefore, you, being a
clergyman, snould go and do lilcewise. There are some
ten thousand people here, but I do not observe that as
yet you have converted a single one."
Thus spoke Bickley in a light and unguarded
moment with his usual object of what is known as
"getting a rise" out of Bastin. Little did he guess
what he was doing.
Bastin thought a while ponderously, then said :
"It is very strange from what peculiar sources Pro-
vidence sometimes sends inspirations. If wisdom flows
from babes and sucklings, why should it not do so from
the well of agnostics and mockers ? "
"There is no reason which I can see," scoffed Bick-
ley, "except that as a rule wells do not flow."
"Your jest is ill-timed and I may add foolish," con-
tinued Bastin. "What I was about to add was that you
have given me an idea, as it was no doubt intended that
you should do. I will, metaphorically speaking, gird
up my loins and try to bear the light into all this heathen
blackness."
"Then it is one of the first you ever had, old fellow.
But what's the need of girding up your loins in this hot
climate?" inquired Bickley with innocence. "Pyjamas
and that white and green umbrella of yours would do
just as well."
Bastin vouchsafed no reply and sat for the rest of
that evening plunged in deep thought.
On the following morning he approached Marama
and asked his leave to teach the people about the gods.
The chief readily granted this, thinking, I believe, that
he alluded to ourselves, and orders were issued accord-
ingly. They were to the effect that Bastin was to be
allowed to go everywhere unmolested and to talk to
whom he would about what he would, to which all must
listen with respect.
)
''I
1
ii
'6: I
80 When the World Shook
working at it, good and earnest nian that Jie «^, in „'
certain extent they understSKlfthey argued and iut .0
^H o„e " ?"°PS could not have answered. Still he
ri^d^"fe:'^iKi^^^^^^^^^ ''IS- p'-
sparing them because they were'so go3. '=°""'"'=^' »>"'
delucr^ T>f"'^"'^i ^^^'^ ^^^"^ ^ho had caused the
f^ ^A' ^'J^y rep 'ed, Oro which was the name of their
fn^'ii'° *''° '^**'^ y°"''«'- °" the mountain^ the lake
Lw d?at''Gor^r-°'U'''^ worshipped in idols He
^J'u°' "°' "J.^ ''^^"'5 o" the mountain in the lake "
Divinhv'liH'^^J °"'?' ''y.&'^i"e the name Oro to the
JJivinity and admitting that He miirht dwi.)! in lh,2
mountain as well as eLywhere el^f thaf Blitin was
able to make progress. Having conceded thk" ^ot
The Orofenans 8z
without scruples, however, he did make considerable
progress, so much, in fact, that I perceived that the
priests of Oro were beginning to grow very jealous of
him and oi his increasing authority with the people.
Bastin was naturally triumphant, and even exclaimed
exultingly that within a year he would have half of the
population baptised.
"Within a year, my dear fellow," said Bickley, "you
will have your throat cut as a sacrifice, and probably
ours also. It is a pity, too, as within that time I should
have stamped out ophthalmia and some other diseases
in the island."
Here, leaving Bastin and his jjood work aside for a
while, I will say a little about the country. From in-
formation which I gathered on some journeys that I
made and by inquiries from the chief Marama, who had
become devoted to us, I found that Orofena was quite a
large place. In shape the island was circular, a broad
band of territory surrounding the great lake of which I
have spoken, that in its turn surrounded a smaller island
from which rose the mountain top. No other land was
known to be near the shores of Orofena, which had
never been visited by anyone except the strangers a hun-
dred years ago or so, who were sacrificed and eaten.
Most of the island was covered with forest which the
inhabitants lacked the energy, and indeed had no tools,
to fell. They were an extremely lazy people and would
only cultivate enough bananas and other food to satisfy
their immediate needs. In truth they lived mostly upon
breadfruit and other products of the wild trees.
Thus it came about that in years of scarcity through
drought or climatic causes, which prevented the forest
trees from bearing, they suffered very much from hun-
ger. In such years hundreds of them would perish and
the remainder resorted to the dreadful expedient of can-
nibalism. Sometimes, too, the shoals of fish a\'oided
their shores, reducing them to great misery. Their only
domestic animal was the pig which roamed about half
wild and in no great numbers, for they had never taken
f
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8« When the World Shook
••wirweiSJ '\W«y- Thai, resources.
iff ti^^ ^^- °T" oP'nion. which Bickley shared wa^
n .nV^f ^ were ,n fact a shrunken and deterioS'rrm'!
nant of some high race now coming to its end through
stfndTnt T/-b^^«*^.'?g- About thfm indeeS; io3-
«e«r^74'Ser€s;t
IZV^^ '^'?^ *? ^.P^'"'' perfectly, was copifus, mScal
and expressive in its idioms. musical,
m. °"^ c'rcumstance I must mention. In walking about
the country I observed all over it enormoul ho les^ some
w th a deot'h o"f «f f T""'^ "^ ^ '^""'I'-^d yards acroS
of us were geologists, but it seemed to me to partake of
the nature of granite. Certainly it was not coral like
wL'n T ''^ly^! '°^'' ■'"* °^ ^ primeval formation
nnl ch ^i''^ ^u^'^™* *hat ca"^d these hXs he
only shrugged his shoulders and said he did not know
but their athers had declared that they were madeb^
stones falling from heaven. This, of couree sSested
meteorites to my mind. I submitted the idea toEev
'■If they were meteorites," he said, "of which a
The Orofenans
83
shower struck the earth in some past geological aee all
ought to exist at the bottom of the holes. To me thev
look more hke the effect of high explosives, butTha df
coulTh.v.""P°'f '\*'^°"g'^^ ^i^"'' know what ;i^^
could have caused such craters."
t« 7^''^^''^ went back to hia work, for nothing that had
todo with antiquity interested Bickley very mtch The
present and its problems were enough for him, he would
say, who neither had lived in the past nor «pected o
have any share in the future. cApcciea to
As I remained curious I made an opportunity to
wTh™il' '" '^' ^T"" °^ °"« °f these craters, taking
with me some of the natives with their wooden tools
^nr^l ^°""? ^ ^""'^ ^f^' °^ «»» «i"^«r cashed down
he rock thon'cfh^L'ff"'''"^ ^'^"^ '^' decomposition of
mV?^'.u ^^K^^y *"°"Sh •" 't nothing grew. I
fhere ano^;"eH° '^'^' ^^'%' " "'^''^ *° "^^ asfon^ishment
mliL f^P? f .f ''°"^" °^ ^ S'^^^ w<"-ked stone quite
nf r^. K, ' ^ *'u "''^"' •"'•««'' it seemed to me to 1^
of marble. Further examination showed that this block
was most beautifully carved in bas-relief, aj^areS
with a design of leaves and flowers. In the disturbed
soil also I picked up a life-sized marble hand of a wonSn
luT''-^lr. k"''^^^ ^"^ apparently broken from a «atue
tha might have been the work of one of the great Greek
sculptors. Moreover, on the third finger of tWs hand
rbt.^ffird"eslyj"^ -^-^' -^---'3^'
rnm^i„^"in^T ''^"m '" ""^ P^''^^^' ^"^ ^s darkness was
Sir' Whp"„V°'ri'"' '^^ '"^^'"^ «"d disinter
the block. When I wished to return the next day, I was
nl ^f P.°'"''y by Marama that it would not^be Ife
for me to do so as the priests of Oro declared that if I
sought to meddle with the "buried things the god would
grow angry and bring disaster on me.'"
When I persisted he said that at least I must go alone
since no native would accompany me, and added elrnest"y
that he prayed me not to go. So to my great regret and
disappointment I was obliged to give up the id^
I
,1
II
CHAPTER VIII
BASTIN ATTEMPTS THE MARTYR's CROWN
hte;1.?°^^^^^^^^^^^ took a great
could they have come fn fh-K A ° ^^7 ■"«»"? How
indeed th^ey wereTart of ^™'^ ^"m '^*' ^''^' ""'^^s
njents which had ban destS '^"'l^'"^ '"^ '^ o™a-
The stone of whS wt hX J" '^^ "^'S^bou'hood ?
seemed far too big to hive ^„^ uncovered a corner
ship; it must have weighed ^em?^'"'' '^^'^. ^^'^ ^^Y
do not carry such thinl» »k ^"^^ *°"^- Besides, shins
visited th>7i!&Xfnft^T£fr'''^' ^-^J-none hfd
rate, or local traHifilT., ^ .", ^ ' ^^^ centuries at anv
ful a fact Were^tSere then'' '^'^'^ 'l'^^'^'^'^ «> ^o"der^
elegant carving sindTni on' tZ'nf '^""^ T^^'^ ^''*^
adorned with lov^y sKs tJl^ P'^ce. and were they
F-°«j! the best iSrio^ of GrSk artT^-r*!??^^ *^
incredible exceot on fh« ^. ••" "^ ^he thing was
reli^ of an u^^yTost^'c^ifffir" ^''^ *^^ --
couS s:%astha^th^w'^/"""'"'' «« '"yself. All he
things Sr & h'aSdTn 'f l^'A'*^ ^"^ "-y
record. #ven Bastin ^s exrii^ f ^^\^°^, ^^ ^a^ no
as his imagination was renre^nt^K'' ^ ''"'« ^'^»«^' but
say was : ® represented by zero, all he could
doesnVm'KS~"/Jf|,5'j.- "''''^' ^"^ -^^^o- it
and -Uerious'^c'uKKS^n'?^ *''« -cient
remembered that unappr2chahl.\^ '" '•'"'. ^«^'°n- I
of the lake and that onT^peSd Tli"'^'" '^ ■*''«' ""''^^t
looked like ruins as seen S^^ l^^^f^^th^:^^
The Martyr's Grown 85
glasses. At any rate this was a point that I might
Saying nothing to anybody, one morning I slipped
away ancf walked to the edee of the lake, a distanoeiS
fave or SIX miles over rough country. Having arrived
there I perceived that the cone-shaped mountain in the
centre, which was about a mile from the lake shore, was
much larger than I had thought, quite three hundred feet
nigh indeed, and with a very large circumference,
further, its sides evidently once had been terraced, and
It was on one of these broad terraces, half-way up and
facing towards the rising sun, that the ruin-like remains
were heaped. I examined them through my glasses.
Undoubtedly it was a cyclopean ruin built of great
blocks of coloured stone which seemed to have been
shattered by earthquake or explosion. There were the
pillars of a might;y gateway and the remains of walls.
I trembled with excitement as I stared and stared.
Could I not get to the place and see for myself? I
observed that from the flat bush-clad land at ihe foot of
the mountain, ran oi ^hat seemed to be the residue of
a stone pier which ei.acd in a large Uble-topped rock
between two and three hundred feet across. But even
this was too far to reach by swimming, besides for
aught I knew there might be alligators in that lake. I
walked up and down its borders, till presently I came
to a path which led into a patch of some variety of cotton
palm.
Following this path I discovered a boat-house
thatched over with palm leaves. Inside it were two good
canoes with their paddles, floating and tied to the
stumps of trees by fibre ropes. Instantly I made up my
mind that I would paddle to the island and investigate.
Just as I was about to step into one of the canoes the
light was cut off. Looking up I saw that a man was
crouching in the door-place of the boat-house in order to
enter, and paused guiltily.
"Friend-from-the-Sea" (that was the name that these
islanders had g:ven to me), said the voice of Marama,
"say— what are you doing here?"
i I
66
When the World Shook
answIre7r.'Sess/; ^''^ ^ ™" °" '»>« 1«''«. Chief." I
^^^ol^iiJ^^;^ ^'^en treated you so
, What do you mean ? " I asked.
expIal?toyou!»'"° ''^'^ '""''«'>*• ^"^"d. and I will
wo<ile5lSar\e"ca'rrit7an^^"'"^ f '""^ ^'^^ '^--y
unarmed/Then iMmeJur '"'""'"•'«^«d '^at I was
makiig^r J,/"r"?ou?„:iT '^^^ •"!"-" "-' to
patience now and I sten to rii /°" "'°"^'''- "^^«
village this mornlngtnd folbwed sTn/c?" '"""'"^^ ''''
pose. Yes, I "ollLed a?one iv^ni^S ^°"'' P^
priests of Oro who fortimnf»i„ ^^'"8: nothing to the
Bellower for th^ir own SL T TJ^' ^«»<=hing the
out the secrets of the moShf withT.J°" ^^.«'«=''["8r
that make things bic- 'hat are ^^^11 t^^^.mag'c tubes
"Have "„S7,'r"S:^. Ma,4ma. But X?"
yonder hm lh"ich ?4,red"br5en"a'-'r-'''^^^^' '"^'^
takes its name, is sacrld ?» °'°^^"*' ^'^^nce this island
"tk" ^"^ ^' ''"t what of it ? "
great as yoJar?V^^:!;^'•^°" 'y?.,^- -d, I suppose,
although I love vnn h^' '''* ^'^^ others. At least
c.n« f „ Jr„x &T. sShr/s^'?,- •^'
IrriuSn™ '" "'■■' '" "" ""^ "»<»•• I "ted wi.h
"Offenngsto whom?"
The Martyr's Crown 87
li.e'tJere"" °'°™'""' "■= SPl"» of tta great <fcad »l,o
K "l*^.°i r'*' ''".°*' F""end-from-the-Sea, but so it ha<!
been held from the beginning. The ima^e in t^ L
I js only visited by his fpirit from dm "^o^t Ue n! H
pray you come back and before the priests Ts^over That
K teSr; cl°e tSriil-he^Tner i
that dunng the convulsion of Nature which resukedb
he tidal wave that had thrown our ship upon the sland
;S3^r4frce\5tf.rL'Js?=i|
was Decause the Oromatuas who dwelt there wpr^
fhin'"*^;. Z\^^ portended great things. Indeed S
thmgs had happened-for had we nit arrived in ZTr
I thanked him for what he had told me. and as therp
was nothing more to be learned, dropped th^ TuWect
which was never mentioned between us again, at liS
not for a long while. But in my heart I deferm „ed tht
^ When the World Shook
m^rrSk'mfli/e'^'^S'" "-"^hough to do so I
mou1.taii.''K^V'owrwni buPb'""^ 'f" ^° *« '»•«
It came 4bout tlJus On^ l^"K.''^,'^"f« ^ "'^s obliged.
he was «;tting o„ J!h hAl-^'^"^ »«''" how
replied: Very well indeed h.,r,^°""'y '^°'^- ««
obstacle in his^prth the idol' in^h^^r" '^"^f''^ ^^^^
for this accursed imge he beli^P^^K':'!^' Y^« «' "«'
would become ChrTstfan i asKiifU'^^L''*'"'* '"^"''
He explained that all hi«! «,Lif .i" *° "^ "o™ plain,
since fiis converts dedfred th,r^K ""!.•?''' "^^ *'''» '^ol,
baptised while i"Lt there in ?hl r,*^ did not dare to b^
spirit that was in t wo^ld b^tS-rf.: " '''"/ ''''*• »''<=
steal out at ni^ht and m'^Ser'lh'Si!' ''"" ""'' P*^^«P«
sug;gisted.'P'"' ^""^ °"'- ^"«"ds the sorcerers," I
thoi>^S,ih'„t„^i°J-, Do you '"'°^^' I >««eve
this Satanic fetfchwlh^th^^ offer human sacrifices to
of that sort." ' *''"*' '^ * '''°"&ht or anything
sca;«l??etve'th;rji'd' LT"-''!;«?' "^* «* ^-y «"'
hood and arhori7v T!S?/f"V!l'' " ^^^" °^" «veli.
to 5 -rificedrrereSrnofh'^'^ St^doTe 5^°"'' '^^"^
hear^^^tin^'ruXiiZ-^^Si -ay- ^ I went I
paid no attention Littfedriirpi'^P"* "'^"^"' ''"^
in his pious but obstiSite''miJd^"'l^ Stiri!s%^^"
that If no one else would remove that Woi t *'"^
ready to do it himself ^'^""'^"^ tnat idol he was quite
almosMSiil bd'eed'^^Nr"'"'" °^^/i''«' business,
of his dark plTns"o me anS ^^f i^'"''' ^L^ ''«= ^"^^^^
just went on wkh his^l^rMl ' " '^'^^° ?'^'''«y- "e
The Martyr's Crown 89
teinyrfi^'i„'"ei^«^,t^lS S^'" -"' « n«r to
he had ever done i„ h « liS^^ i""u ""*"«' «« I suppose
day Bickley's sharo eve ri?.;^.^' ''^PP*"<=*' thus. One
about with wlS £>ked Hke^^'h'^^' °^.^««'" *«'Wng
pocket. ^''^° '"'^ * bo"le of whisky in his
o«i.Si\Se?K'p'>« -jj. :;^ •'"^ self-denying
pegs on .he sly," and he pLJ ed" o'^hrbi't ^°" "^'
^^4 ^^^eZJS^if'J^^ S) absorb
that its label may have mis/, dv^,?' « ''>°"?h I admit
far as I am concerned." ^°"' ""'"'entTonally, so
asked BJckley" ^°" ^"'"^ ^° ''o *ith the paraffin?"
awlSr,:'°'°"^ *''™"S'' his tan and replied
oneS'S,^?,-^^oodtok^^^^^^^^^
I have brought it here wifh fhl? ?"« s skm. Not that
's that I am^anx ousVexnerimelJ^'' ■.'y"^'\ '^^^ ^'"th
own design made— um-!!^? ^- "' *"h « ^amp of mv
parted in a hmy? """"^^ "*"^« ^ood." ancf he d^
what it is to l^ and Sck fo Tt 't "^ ^' "^'"^ as To
after with that paraffin ?No^ LJ T",''^'' ^^^^ he is
patients with it, I hone ^^J/"'"*? 'o dose any of my
day that it is a iearremi/ * u' ^':^"'"& 'he other
Hi
I
tli
T
ill
fi
90 When the World Shook
t^refArg'llr o?r„" l'„^cv"^""''. -^ich i had tried
from the ship, fished "oattemnft'^'^J •''"^ ''^"^ht
our position b> h^p of the sST In tlSl"" h"" '"^'^ °'
may say, I failed aCso utefy as i diS „" f if"''''"^"'' ^
take a stellar or any otherTCvitfo^.""' ''""^ ^°^ '°
the?a"ntTr^n TTar°rSd°'thaT th" "' ''°"'" ' ^^^^''"'^d. by
astonished to see or ;dth».r ♦« k„ telescope, I was
natives walWng pastihe ^1 oT h'.^''"' "."""^^ ''^ ^^e
bush. Then f rememhPrpH ♦!, V^ '"°"''=' towards the
think had' informed trSa'SerwasTo K^"*""' '
sacrifice to Ore at dawn on t W 7 a, " S""^*'
thought no mor- of th^m,^?. k . ^^^^^ .'^'*" t'''-'' I
a futile study*^;? thetea*^ ?/ bSieT"lT^S'tr
n«:''''' '"^ P"; * P"'°<1 to "ly labours ^'' '^'
iitt.?5'iyr;Sa;;;:o'ft'ht^ '^^'^^"?^ ^-^ ^•^^^
half a mile or more ^wav amnn??^' '"^''*'"'y «*^«"'
knew concealed the imr«^of Oro^ n'*'»5''' ^'"■^'' ^
I had never had the c^?,^si?J tn Ll, *?'f P«^«o"a"y
was only a hideous Mn tl7 u °''' ^^ ^ ''"«^ that it
other bedizenmente Thl fl °l*=' '^'*'' ^^^^hers and
into the still Tir and was tZ.S°l T^''*'"'^ ''""'S^'
by the sound of a duH pJ,in=r ^^"^ ^°"^ 'ater
out. Also k was ?oIbwed^! ±n";th-'" T'""<='' '* ^^«
of rage f.om an infuSS Ib^ *'""^ ''^"^ ^'^^^
the^USndJmigtt m'ean" kf "'f '^ ^r"<^- -''"t
Bickley, who hid b^en attlndin^^'"'^'''" ^PP"^'-"^'^
and asked me who was exSnf ^""^ "i^^"' ^^^se,
him that I had no^Ia "P'odmg gunpowder. I told
BasZ'Tp to'^m'e ILT'^T"' "'' '^ th«t ass
wanted that pa rX ^LTsten t^^tl ^ g^""^ why he
they after?" i-'sten to the row. What are
The Martyr's Crown
91
We'l^ll\"'^'7l '!.'"' •*"«' 80 to see."
before a afr?' *k"** '?'* "°' '^^"ed » hundred yards
They cook him like a pig i" ' ®''"°''" ^"'' «^*''
yust what I expected," said Bickley.
a loud «plo,io„ .„J?,X i„t, Jfe^;" Hi "SS
in,( tK- {'""IS, Killed nim. Thereon the other oriests
N,i th '"'°P'^ '*'"'*' '''« ««"°^«' «nd made him S
hi r^» K*^ '^"'^ *."fi^«?^*^ '" •'eating an oven in wS
Sm^ in t-'n^ur'^^'brr" '' ^^ '^^^ ^'^^^ ^"^^ -
£™ °""=:,P««P'«'» «?ods alone bsteadorbbwinc
them up with gunpowder?" oiowmg
therein"? ..e?""^'' ""^^'^- ""°P« -« «hall get
"To be cooked and eaten with Bastin I " wh^e^PW
B.cklcy, after which his breath gave out. ^
lr.n^*- " <;''«"c«d ^e did, for these stone ovens take a
^u^ 1™V° 5''^*- ^'^e^e '^>' the edge of his fiery erave
stood Bas in, quite unmoved, smiling indeed, in a sort
of serapnic way which irritated ul both extremdv
Round h.m danced the infuriated prieste of Oro a„^
round them, shrieking and howlin'^J wV ra^^' ^^
'3
i ]
9a When the World Shook
most of the population of Orofena Wii r.,«i,-,i
Ulna: ^^-ssjtroi sz l to.—
I stared at him and Bickley gasped out
arc ei'te^nT"' '° "^ "'*'"' -''«' ^oe^it matter why you
which is not very long.
or sorrerprc «rh« ™,-,_ j • _ . aumc oi
^°°jlS5u''"'>« « the placid Bastin! ^"^ ""'"
What IS the matter?" I asked sternly of the chief
This, Fnend-from-the-Sea. The Be1^«,»r rKJ
I
The Martyr's Crown gj
rfm ,!™1T"°' "K""""" "'Hied lo produce mm
lu^aS' *'"""•■ '"« '« '"« P""" U did "S^
began to look v»r« ..^i 'rt . "" '"C™- llnnffs
Gre^ HeaU do^'you not? WeVl^""', ^"f" °^
.he n,outh with rage. rLhed Jo^a 'd Sn'^^^Tflub
Suddenly Bickley lifted his revolver anH fir«i tu
I
iHI;
94 When the World Shook
turn^:Sts"had ut^'- ''^ -'""«'' ^^ dazed at the
Where to-the ship? We might hold that "
cutti„ti>fft;^o:5ih?e^ ^n'^rv^^'^y -«
whe. they dare nof f^'us^^ ^ i^to.'y '"ro^'^''^
Bick";." ^^^ "^ ^°'"^ '° "- on the iste""asked
"I don't know," I recriied- "h,,* i
that if we stav he^ weTaH d'ie " ' ^ ^"^ '^^''^ ""«^'"
V^Tweri,"hesaid;"letu^tryit."
bonr"' ^' "^^^ ^P^'^'"S^ I ^^s cutting Bastin's
"Thank you." hp <uiiH "t* •
stretch one's ar^saCthPv h t ^"^^^ '^"^^ »<>
with cords. Bmat the L,ml^- ''''t ]^^" compressed
pit loo, to look for ySnSv"i is 2 ''^i'"!" ""
Have done enough .^»chK'o™T™i'".;. """'■ J"""
-.n,oteJ?'3L"Lt'; !?„• ST!!!'!.'" ">' «.'.
Uh I shut It and trot," broke in Bicklev «Tk«
As a matter Pf fact, we were never in any real
The Martyr's Crown 93
ToXg'i„'wi°h^Port"hIt"ttf •"'P' half-hearted indeed,
at IM. „„„ Than , „r if™ V"'H'''n""^"'"«
they stood surinr .1 "s ^SJfdly B«r„ ',blS "l"!
oa .he .downfall of .'•S^'S'ArG™™*?" '° "■"«"
forebodin«'r,S ■'» •PP?!'?' » awate memories or
|pS°atrmVSher;i'^^„SfS!frj?;r
^Lr„ "- ^' s.Ci^.otra.?r.=^«f'
te%'&/rsaX„'dr.?L^^^^^^^^
^ *»,^''-^^^'""/ ff^""fle'^io"s towards the mountain
'^Do"^'?" !"«' ^{^J -'"•<=\they turned and departS
Jiastm. Evidently my words have touched them and
their minds are melting beneath the light of Trmh."
?l
96 When the World Shook
", "9u ' \^^^ means," replied Bickley with sarcasm;
for then their spears will touch us, and our bodies
will soon be melting above the fires of that pit."
"Perhaps you are richt," said Bastin; "at least. I
admit that you have made matters very difficult by your
unjustifiable homicide of that priest who I do not think
"t^j*/*^,'"^"''^ y°". seriously, and really was not at all
a bad fellow, though opinionated in some ways. Also
I do not suppose that anybody is expected, as it were!
to run his head into the martyr's crown. When it
settles there of itself it is another matter."
"v'^^ a butterfly 1" exclaimed the enraged Bickley.
Yes, if you like to put it that way, though the
srniae seems a very poor one; like a sunbeam would be
Here Bickley gave way with his paddle so vigorously
that the canoe was as nearly as possible upset into the
In due course we reached the flat Rock of Offerines
which proved to be quite as wide as a double croquet
lawn and much longer. ^
"What are those?" I asked, pointing to certain
knobs on the edge of the rock at a spot where a curved
projecting point made a little harbour.
Bickley examined them, and answered :
"I should say that they are the remains of stone
mooring-posts worn down by many thousands of years
of weather. Yes, look, there is the cut of the cables
upon the base of that one, and very big cables thev
must have been."
J j^® ^^^**^ *^ °"® another— that is, Bickley and I
did, for Bastin was still engaged in contemplating the
blackened head of the god which he had overthrown
CHAPTER IX
THE ISLAND IN THE LAKE
We made the canoe fast and landed on the great rock
to perceive that .t was really a peninsula, ^hat Tt^
say, It was joined to the main land of the lake island by
nP,r^l™^:?'^^^K*'""^ ^J% yards across, which ap-
peared to and m the mouth of the cave. On this cause-
way we noted a very remarkable thing, namely, two
grooves separated by an exact distance of nin'^' K
Jhere '" """"^^ °^ ^^^ *=^^*' ^"'' vanished
"Explain I " said Bickley.
th»I''f^*'^f;." ^ ^'f ",''"''■" ^y countless feet walking on
them for thousands of years."
Arhi.Sl'nf ^''wK /l*'*'''^*^ ^^^ ^^' °f observation,
Arbuthnot. What do you say, Bastin ? "
replied r'^'' ^' ^''^ ^"""^^^ ^^'°''^^ ^'^ spectacles, and
hJ'J .^°"'^ ,^^ anything, except that I can't see any-
body to make paths here. Indeed, the place seems
quite unpopulated, and all the Orofenans told mftTa?
they never landed on it because if they did they would
aie. It IS a part of their superstitious nonsense If
you have any idea in your head you had better tell us
quickhr before we breakfast. I am very hungry "
You always are," remarked Bickley; "even when
most people's appetites might have been affected. Well"
I think that this great plateau was once a landing-plSi
L/rpI"^ machines, and that there is the air-sl^^
g^arage.
Bastin stared at him.
„ J'°°"'* yo" think we had better breakfast?" he said
Ihere are two roast pigs in that canoe, and lots of
97
it \
i
98 When the World Shook
other food, enough to last us a week, I should sav Of
course, I understand that the blood you have ahed has
— I_mean as the principal dish." "'*==*">st yonder
Ririi. "T if!'>'''<'=™e. not you, who prevented it
SlorSs'^d""'"" """"* ' '«■ """'"^y •>' «">. ^
£?'pis;i.» g^p'tltenf-itS S.3 C =11
3^o"p^'/Sy\%..nh-t,irthS.t
|^p£-^eiKSi.-&.r^l^»S"
lit in the depression, possibly as a bird does and tlfen
§Mer^SL-^-st~3:
mght, as I was taking a class of native boys and makinS
some arrangements of my own " maKing
feasible ^°A?h' IT^^ ^'"!f^^- ^^^" seeiued very
w^ . ^ yet how could such things be? ^
We unloaded the canoe and ate. Bistin's aooetite
was splendid. Indeed, I had to ask him to reS2
we'shlis ti zrzjr "^^"^ ' ^'^ - •'"--"-
helped himself to another chop.
of Jlr^'w*^ ^ f*^""''^^ ''''» «> ™"ch. Not a couDle
and e"[ln But Jh" Th'''^"' *° "^^ ""^"^ ™"Sd
and eaten. But this did not seem to affect him in th*.
i ^in ^*'!i" *f -V^" °"^y ""«" I have ever known with
a really perfect faith. It is a quality worth havfng and
The Island in the Lake 99
the ;fS,"tiS^B!X'^''"^ ^"^ h^'P "^ to haul up
past is going to shot m^'s^nfe on« Stff'ten'''^
thing else, probaWv of hU? ^ """^ thinking of some-
andof theSlcL?fivpH ?"?;f'^^" ^^'^ ""a'" island
stances pre^?mih^'^^!lf°^t^sliour which circum-
place where are no unbelfev/r^ ^T ^ ^ ^'^' P'^^"'
and all sinners wH? bTSn^reJ es«TTn"whth "Th
in a white surplice with nil T,!f ' * . "^^' '^'^'^
• 1
^ III
r*
I
100 When the World Shook
1^4
Iff
I !
wrong-headed nuisance to which he had become accus-
tomed.
And I ! What did I feel ? I do not know ; I cannot
describe. An extraordinary attraction, a semi-spiritual
exaltation, I thinlt. That cave mouth might have been
a magnet drawing my soul. With my body I should
have been afraid, as I daresay I was, for our circuuv
stances were sufficiently desperate. Here we were,
castaways upon an island, probably uncharted, one of
thousands in the recesses of a vast ocean, from which
we had little chance of escape. More, having offended
the religious instincts of the primeval inhabitants of
that island, we had been forced to flee to a rocky moun-
tain in the centre of a lake, where, after the food we
had brought with us by accident was consumed, we
should no doubt be forced to choose between death by
starvation, or, if we attempted to retreat, at the hands
of justly infuriated savages. Yet these facts did not
oppress me, for I was being drawn, drawn to I knew
not what, and if it were to doom — well, no matter.
Therefore, none of us cared '■ Bastin because his faith
was equal to any emergency and there was always that
white-robed heaven waiting for him beyond which his
imagination did not go (I often wondered whether he
pictured Mrs. Bastin as also waiting; if so, he never
said anytlting about her) ; Bickley because as a child of
the Present and a servant of knowledge he feared no
future, believing it to be for him non-existent, and
was careless as to when his strenuous hour of life
should end; and I because I felt that yonder lay my
true future; yes, and my true past, even though to
discover them I must pass through that portal which
we know as Death.
We reached the mouth of the cave. It was a vast
place; perhaps the arch of it was a hundred feet high,
and I could see that once all this arch had been adorned
with sculptures. Protected as these were by the over-
hanging rock, for the sculptured mouth of the cave was
cut deep into the mountain face, they were still so worn
that it was impossible to discern their details. Time had
ilie Island in the Lake
f^^o have wo..ef£ tn' C&,^rsS£
f'-om''Lubsequenr'^xaminMin""'' ^'"^^^'' ^°^'^« when
entire mouth of t4 cavi k^/'k "^"^"^'' ">at th/.
unnumbered aees It ,v^fi k "'' "'^^n scaled uo for
'o'd. me the mountai:''in'Ve"]f?''^,^e^ that Ma'^ama
dunng; the frightful cydone n wSh ^""^ ''^^ """^h
and with t the rivA ;v.„ H , ?^"'ch we were wrerkpH
invisible.. F^;ih': ma ^J "ot Phr'^-'j' ^S
was obvious that somethKfTh " '"""ntain side it
yery recently, at any rate In th^ '°" '^^'^ happened
|s, either the flat rock ha r^ .^ ^^^'^'" face. That
been thrown upwards '"'' """'^ "'^ ^^e volcano had
when"we foun'd' i?' ^lVi\'T ''"" "^^ - '' was
way that the tab le-rock \nV^ ^°"^ ^o^" in such a
Now this entrance was on,eS/^«'ed the entrance
of course there was a break Tn ft,''P^"'u^"^ ^^'^°^Sh
which I have sookpn , " ^^^'"' the erooves of
slightly different'Teve" from fh" .'"'° l^^ «ve^a° onl/a
the flat rock. And yet Tltufl k \'''*''' '"^^^ "Pon
sheltered by a great s^n-l^ i ?"8:h they had be „ th^s
these sculpLef w^re^^Vaw^^Tb'v" IH '^^/''^-.S
Of course, however thi= ™» Y ^ T^ tooth of Time
before the^ were buried b som^e anW ^^^"'""^ *° ^h^m
thus^resurrected at the "hr^f^o^ LrS^^' - f|
of '\e;?c"ruiSatfarV^inTsV^ f'-- -^'^-'-n
mouth of that great place lilowfn"*":."'^ ^^^ yawning
■n the deep grooves that 'l I Iv.^ ^"^ indeed walkinf
■t seemed to^pen oVt as a courtv^r!]""-'^- P'-^^entlf
of a passage; fes, to open on to2m^ ""^^* "' '^^ end
>n that gloom we could hm L^Z ""^^ ^^'''t ""'^^'"^f
102 When the World Shook
from far, far away. Bickley and I said nothing; we
were too overcome. But Bastin remarked :
"Did you ever go to Olympia? I did once to see
a kind of play where the people said nothing, only ran
about dressed up. They told me it was religious, the
sort of thing a clergyman should study. I didn't think
it religious at all. It was all about a nun who had a
baby.'^
"Well, what of it?" snapped Bickley.
"Nothing particular, except that nuns don't have
babies, or if they do the fact should not be advertised.
Rut I wasn't thinking of that. I was thinking that this
place is like an underground Olympia."
"Oh, be quiet ! " I said, for tnough Bastin's descrip-
tion was not bad, his monotonous, drawling Voice jarre<
on me in that solemnity.
"Be careful where you walk," whispered Bickley,
for even he seemed awed, "there may be pits in this
floor."
"I wish we had a light," I said, halting.
"If candles are of any use," broke in Bastin, "as it
happens I have a packet in my pocket. I took them
with me this morning for a certain purpose."
"Not unconnected with the paraffin and the burning
of the idol, I suppose?" said Bickley. "Hand them
over."
"Yes; if I had been allowed a little more time I
intended "
"Never mind what you intended; we know what
you did and that's enough," said Bickley as he snatched
the packet from Bastin's hand and proceeded to undo
it, adding, " By heaven ! I have no matches, nor have
you, Arbuthnot I "
"I have a dozen boxes of wax vestas in my other
pocket," said Bastin. "You see, they burn so well
when you want to get up a fire on a damp idol. As you
may have noticed, the dew is very heavy here."
In due course these too were produced. I took
possession of them as they were too valuable to be left
in the charge of Bastin, and, extracting a box from the
The Island in the Lake 103
tff^riet^Tlik^^lSseT^^^ ^''"^^ *"«' °^ the short
Presently they bii^ed^ " caj-nage-lamps.
light which%ow^ever. ^reP„'o?^^?3 '^° ^«'"' stars of
us either the roof or'th^side^of 7h,^ *"°"^'i '° «'>o^
their aid we pursued our path « li''?',,^'*"^'- ^^
grooves till suddenly these «m«'.„ following the
around us was a flat E ^ - L° *!?. ^"*'- Now all
ceived clearly when we^^hpH "^^ ''t"=''' « ^^ per-
gathered thic^kly on h in'^ the 1^,^" '^ ''"«' that Tad
Trom the gradual dis ntepration ofTh °^^^''' ''°"^tles.,
once been polished tHl K«"hVH hV'^"^ ^^"^' ^ad
deed, certain cracks in JLT '*'' ^^^^^ marble. In.
filled in with^m'edarkS^iouZ^PP""'"'^ ',° ^^^'^ be""
ing at them while BicKvLnH T «"*• ^ ''"o^ look-
a fittle forward, an? SX"1^[!^ f to the right and
him Bastin sticking^ cK'i'""^''^^ f^- } ^yalked to
candle, as did the little dot t ^ ^ ^'^ the other
these new surround "Js and J^hh"^' *.''° '^''^ "°t like
"Look," saw Bickflv hoW?ni'^ not eave my heels,
tell me-what's that?" ^' "^ "P '"^ <=«"<"^. "and
of g^Sing'VoSmLfr^r T* ^""■°"'' «^"«tire
ap/eared tf S'conSec.^'^b^wtL""'^^^ '^^^
might have been forty fe«hi^^ ^ J^^^ structure
eve/.'^e^XdV"^""' '°^ ' ^^ thi^nkif J^^Bastin. how-
thinVlf^'^;;V°b?,h\"^Sa/ntc;X'^' ''"^^ ^''-"^
some people who lived here T^nt f '^^'^ '" ^^ich
it was an aviary. LS,k a?t&,l r»? /^'.°' P^'-'^^PS
monkeys to climb ^ or oSh I f '^"^^"l^o' 'he
sit on." ^' possibly for the birds to
Bickley'' ^°" '"'" '^ ''^"'t tame angels?" asked
angeiTn a Lge '^fe'^^'-k ' How can you keep an
"Aeroplane I" I almost whispered to Bickley.
^
;S
ir
104 When che World Shook
"You've got it I" he answered. "The framework
of an aeroplane and a jolly large one, too. Only why
hasn't it oxidised?"
"Some indestructible metal," I suggested. "Gold,
for instance, does not oxidise."
He nodded and said :
"We shall have to dig it out. The dust is feet thick
about it ; we can do nothing without spades. Come on."
We went round to the end of the structure, whatever
it might be, and presently came to another. Again we
went on and came to another, all of them being berthed
exactly in line.
"What dd I tell you?" said Bickley in a voice of
triumph. "A whole garage full, a regul.ir fleet of
aeroplanes t "
"That must be nonsense," said Bastin, "for I am
quite sure that these Orofenans cannot make such things.
Indeed they have no metal, and even cut the throats of
pigs with wooden knives."
Now I began- to walk forward, bearing to the left so
as f regain our former line. We could do nothing
with these metal skeletons, and I felt that there must be
more to find beyond. Presently I saw something loom>
ing ahead of me and quickened my pace, only to recoil.
For there, not thirty feet away and perhaps three hun-
dred yards from the mouth of the cave, suddenly ap-
peared what looked like a gigantic man. Tommy saw
it also and barked as dogs do when they are frightened,
and the sound of his yaps echoed endlessly from every
quarter, which scared him to silence. Recovering my-
self I went forward, for now I guessed the truth. It
was not a man but a statue.
The thing stood upon a huge base which lessened
by successive steps, eight of them, I think, to its summit.
The foot of this base may have been a square of fifty
feet or rather more; the real support or pedestal of the
statue, however, was only a square of about six feet.
The figure itself was a little above life-size, or at any
rate above our life-size, say seven feet in height. It
was very peculiar in sundry ways.
The Island in the Lake 105
projecled one arm, the rieTrin fh?^ "i"*. w«PPing»
the likeness of . lighted Sh Vh. k^!1** °' *''•'='> *"
it was that of a man w■n/^'''!!^'^'""°'v«"«'•
vi3aged; the counwnani I'^'L'Si '^'"-"PPcd. stern-
"nutterable ca^m „ d^ J^^k"^"*, ^ »" "*^"> -nd
benign. On th" b?ow^^ 1 ttl ?.^^"u^'"!? ""'^ '«»
unlike an Eastern mrK=n^ * ^^^'hed head-dress, not
wings reseSg n l^m'e "eL:!"" »P™"g two litt?e
Greek head of HySnra lord^'of 4^" °"o"«^ ^"""O"'
foWs of the wrapKs 'on the L?u"P- ^"*'*" ^^e
wings, enormous winfs bent liU ,h »P""^J*° '''''er
to take flight. In3 ,h! I , ^^°^ °^ « bird about
suggested that it ^Is sor!n^r„°i%""''"'^ °^ «*•»« «?"'«
was executed in bkck Cf nr^i"*" ""^ '° ''"■ It
and very highly fi„Tshed^P„,^'"f '"°"'= °^ '^e sort,
feet and the frm which held »h-» '"k'*"*";' °" '''^ bar^
muscle and evTn some of ,hlV°"''' '•■?"'*' ^ ^«'t ..ery
the details of the S werl ner?i!?f.' ^" *''^?'"" ^^"^
touch, although at first ^f^ht'^^„f"-^J?*'"P''^'« to the
surface. Thfs tas as^eS LeS bv^'Jr °k"- '^' '""»"•'
pedesul and feeling th"e":?eSou^rht"ds'"^ on the
theS^VndTe^m'&tel:^* Vo ^^^^^^ "- «'
He^SJ'trhl^rKS^rttlr '1 «^»--
that such accuracy could hl!^ k«- *''°"g''t it possible
worldng in so haj;,Tmaterra1 ''''" ^'^*=''''*' ^^ «" ««'«
ciosSy'^'iL trt^o'iYs";!;:;^ ^ir^'*''' *'""^ -'- -
expressed our Snbns of^?« • °«'^' *"^ '" turn
thought that if tho^ ?hings doSnXf ^""'- .»^""
rematns of aeroplanes, Xch he did n^ k ^^"^ *''«
statue had somerhing o do with flvL I """i- '^^
by the fact that it ha^ win« «« •» ?^ ^' ^ w^^ shown
Also, he added. IfS-'exa^^ °" 'the'fatXt°'!l''''-
be was right, tnii^^ J^^V ;X^X^-^ol
l!
ti '
M6 When the World Shook
which we should do well to destroy «t once before the
islanders came to worship it. *
"'SL't^of T.*l M? '^^ " he listened to him.
you. JS?^i;,X.tiai!" '"•"'• "°-~y' Oh«
Here I may sute thkt Bastin was quite rieht as we
rS**^h' ^''"'"••'^ T.'^J" ** compared the Sd "thS
aw«vCi?h hi™ "vT/h ^ «™J'»?«d. he had brSuiht
away with him, vith that of the statue. Allowing
for an enormous debasement of art, they were wsLn^
tially Identical in the facial character sties. Th?s wo"kl
«Eio!?/ t"""}' °^ " ■'"^•''°" 'trough countleS
pnerations. Or of course it may have been accidenul.
L^.'^'^ ' ""^ "°' '^"°*' ''"' ^ think it possible tha
for unknown centuries other old statues may have
existed in Orofena from which the idol wm cS^^. Or
wa*!;'.,. fh-".! *"•'' ""P'""" 'P'"' ""y have found nis
u^„V- ""^^ '" P*!.' f«f*5 ""<• fashioned the local god
upon this ancient model. ''
Bickley was struck at once, as I had been, with the
resemblance of the figure to that of the Egypdan Osi is
Of course there were differences. For inftance, insteid
of the crook and the scourge, this divinity held a torch.
Again, in place of the crown of Egypt it wore a winged
head-dress, though it is true this was not very far re-
moved from the winged disc of that countnr. The
wings that sprang from its shoulders, however, sug-
hnn!lh?»^^'°"'%",'''".**'*".^«yP*' °' the Assyrian
bulls that are similarly adorned. All of these symbolical
Ideas might have been taken from that figure. But
what was It? What was it?
In a flash the answer came to me. A representation
of the spir:t of Death ! Neither more nor less. There
was the shroud; there the cold, inscrutable countenance
suggesting mysteries that it hid. But the torch and the
wings? Well, the torch was that which lighted souls
to the other world, and on the wings they flew thither.
Whoever fashioned that statue hoped for another life,
or so I was convinced.
I explained my ideas. Bastii! thought them fanciful
J 1
The Island in the Lake 107
in any religion exceof hi, ow^n' u'."^'**'"* '?'"'"«'
.«:,;'iJx '""'"'' '■'-*«"«. sift .'S'i^^^^
caves and idols at present ^""^ "° """^
are'K„SToW^t"'lrdo^?^«,'„ff^J^^^^
we can prevent it for ^o ™ J . "^ "P "O'e ^
very bac^yTatS on. Vw S3?n1 ,?"' *" ^"" '^°'
pass the mouth of thi* r«™^- .^^'° ""^ P°<=''«« com-
at the begin" nVit was o7i!nI^T, ''".f ''*•'^• P^'^^^Iy
purposes^,/ ast?onom1ca?Tb"?,?ati?n Sr ofZ^ T '°'
certain periods of the vear FVnm ?i, °^*<^"''lp at
sun when we landU «n^»! i T "'^ Position of the
that iu^ now ?t les a toMexartr^"'"^-' '■'"^^'""^
mouth of the cave If thiL^-= ^'^''^ opposite to the
a time at east^he llU^ ,h ^^ to-'"orrow at dawn, for
statue, and Srhaos \unLf "^u^V^^^ ^ ^" '^ 'he
should wait'lIlten'tTe'xpio,?'^ ' '"^^* '^ '""^ -«
J
^
'^
xo8 When the World Shook
..t i£hlfo?&\T.f ^^f'"- "^ ^* hin, sniffing
therefor pIrhlpsl'sSke"" ' ''''"'' '""''^ '« ^ -^ '"
with^"h?s Wa!!^'' ''*'^" ''" '^^""^^ " "'"e was Tommy
peak Thb'ploved "tot ^ "'''' ^!.""? ^''^ ^^^^^ "^ ^he
and continuous bombardment ^"^J""''^ *° « t^nSc
climYJhe%7ak1n 3'to e "^ ''^'^"J' ^'^ ''' *° -°^k to
r have s^:t-^^:^-^^-^s^^:^^
The Island in the Lake 109
fracments wl , \%' "°'^' PO"nded into dust and
sone !o what^e had^f f'' T' '^^ ^^°''^" blocks o1
near the Sc^T The crater fnr ^°>h '"T'^' ^^'^''^'^ ^^oo^
make out when weTrHv^H '^'''" "« "^st. AH we could
some grearbuUdiL for > ' '^^' ^T ^""^ """^^ ^t^od
alsotLell^^uK^^^^^^
had brokerup the ed fice 1]^^ h'"'"^'' '^' ^.""^ "^^or
shattered it with hfs th^?,^^^?. u ''^'"T"' °' ""^ ^^^^
I
Is
(iC
CHAPTER X
THE DWELLERS IN THE TOMB
By now it was drawing towards sunset, so we made such
preparations as we could for the night. One of these
was to collect dry driftwood, of whicS an abundance la^
upon the shore, to serve us for firing, though unfor-
Jimitely we had nothing that we could cook for our
While we were thus engaged we saw a canoe ap-
proach.ng the table rock and perceived that in it were
the chief Marama and a priest. After hovering about
for a while they paddled the canoe near enough fo allow
of conversation which, taking no notice of their pre-
sence, we left it to them to befin. ^
;„J'^' Pr'end-from-the-Sea," called Marama, address-
ing myself, we come to pray you and the Great Healer
to return to us to be our guests as before. The people
t?«rr'^'*7.f '^■^^^"^^^ ^^^^""^ o^ the loss of your
wisdom and the sick cry aloud for the Healer; indeed
two of those whom he has cut with knives are dyine."
Bastin." °^ '^^ Bellower?" I asked, indiclting
thJ'<^^ f!?"."'*^ ^^^ '° ^^ ^'"^ I'^ck also, Friend-from-
the-Sea, that we may sacrifice and eat him, who de-
his ri °"" ^"'^ '^"^^'^ *^^ "^^'^'' '° '''"
"That is most unjust," exclaimed Bastin. "I deeply
lEl -1^ blood that was shed on the occasion, un-
necessarily as I think."
"Then go and atone for it with your own," said
Bickley, "and everybody will be pleased."
Waving to them to be silent, I said :
Are you mad, Marama, that you should ask us to
no
The Dwellers in the Tomb m
return to sojourn among people who tried to kill us,
merely because the Bellower caused fire to burn an
image of wood and its head to fly from its shoulders,
just to show you that it had no power to hold itself
together, although you call it a god ? Not so, we wash
our hands of you ; we leave you to go your own way
while we go ours, till perchance in a day to come, after
many misfortunes have overtaken you, you creep about
our feet and with prayers and offerings beg us to
return."
I paused to observe the effect of my words. It was
excellent, for both Marama and the priest wrung their
hands and groaned. Then I went on :
"Meanwhile we have something to tell you. We
have entered the cave where you said no man might set
a foot, and we have seen him who sits within, the true
god. • (Here Bastin tried to interrupt, but was sup-
pressed by Bickley.)
They looked at each other in a frightened way and
groaned more loudly than before.
"He sends you a message, which, as he told us: of
your approach, we came to the shore to deliver to you."
How can you say that?" ! agan Bastin, but was
again violently suppressed by Bickley.
" It is that he, the real Oro, rejoices that the false
Oro, whose far is copied from his face, has been de-
stroyed. It is .iiat he commands you day by day to
bring food in plenty and lay it upon the Rock of
Offerings, not forgetting a supply of fresh fish from the
sea, and with it all those things that are stored in the
house wherein we, the strangers from the sea, deigned
to dwell awhile until we left you because in your
wickedness you wished to murder us."
"And if we refuse— what then?" asked the priest,
speaking for the first time.
"Then Oro will send death and destruction upon
you. Then your food shall fail and you shall perish of
sickness and want, and the Oromatuas, the spirits of the
great dead, shall haunt you in your sleep, and Oro shall
eat up your souls."
i
h
3
\
0
r
II f
Is!
"2 When the World Shook
the-Sea ?" ''' '°""'"*' ^''^^ ^hen. Friend-from-
'"ST/rr^'^T-^^^ and in
would do our best hut r^lZ "^^P''^^ '^^t we
their offence ;^vervgre°t *^"''^"''' "°"^'"^ ^'"^^
line of retreaf." ^^ '^"'' ^° ''^^^' ^^ sure of ««;
Bastin.^'J^emlto^metrr jf " «^?Pit«'." exclaimed
not has just tddTresuffirLr.f'V'^* lies which Arbuth-
of quoting? ™™'an *l.ir; "'!;* '"'" »" »» fond
The Dwellers in the Tomb 113
must do as the Romans do; also a third, that necessity
iir-'T ^"^ ^S' the matter of that, a fourth? t^a?ah
IS fair in love and war."
to 'hlT^hI%^t^^^7' "'^' ^^"^ "^^'^^ "««"t his words
Lrn "1 <i^ba^d sense which you attribute to
I- T~ , began Bastin, but at this point I hustled
hi"l,oH K ^^ V? ^"■^'^ P'*^^**^ "' wh'ch I pointed out
he had shown himself an expert.
We slept that night under the overhanging rock just
to one side of the cave, not in the mouth, becausi of
Tn ,h t"^^.' '"^l^'t ^'^'^ '" ^"d o"t of the great place.
In that soft and balmy clime this wa<= no hirdship, al-
though we lacked blankets. And yei, tired though I
was, I could not rest as I should have done. Bistin
snored away contentedly, quite unaffected by his escape
which to him was merely an incident in the day's work-
and so, too, slumbered Bickley, except that he did not
snore. But the amazement and the mystery of all that
we had discovered and of all that might be left for us
to discover, held me back from sleep.
What did it mean? What could it mean? Mv
rnX\'^"t^%'"'^''u^P f'''"8^^ ^"d seeded to vibrate
to the touch of invisible fingers, although I could not
1" hE» T^ k"'"^^'' *^^' \^^y '"^^^- On'^e or twice also
tno"gnt I heard actual music with my physical ears,
and that of a strange quality. Soft and low and dream-
lul. It appeared to well from the recesses of the vast
cave, a wailing song in an unknown tongue from the
h^^nl ^°'"^^i.°'' °^ ^ ''■*""^"' multiplied mysteriously
by echoes. This, however, must have Leen pure fancv
since there was no singer there.
.oimH^^f"*'^ ^ 1°f ^ ?^' ^° ^ awakened by the sudden
sound of a great fish leaping in the lake. I sat up and
stared, fearing lest it might be the splash of a paddle,
tor I could not put from my mind the possibility of
attack. All I saw, however, was the low line of the
distant shore, and above it the bright and setting stars
that heralded the coming of the sun. Then I woke the
others, and we washed and ate, since once the sun rose
time would be precious.
i
I
•4
til '
«4 When the World Shook
-n^^' '*,"?"'. '^ app'-Jred, splendid in a cloudless skv
and, as I Tiad hop--.., directly opposite to the rn^th ^
HHf'^IL ^u^'u"« °"'' ^^"'"^^ ^"^ some stout p°ec2 3
driftwood which, with our knives, we had shapeTon
the previous evening to serve us as levers and m.i^h
shovels, we entered the cave. Bickley and I were fillJ
with excitement and hope of what we knew „«* k! ,
Bast n showed little ent1,usiasm for our quest ' hS
heart was w.th his half-converted savages Cnd the
lake, and of them, qu te riehtlv I hav^ nn, X..k* k
thought more than \e difor a 1 the archtofiiil
treasures n the whole earth fitiu VT ^*"^'^"*o'og cal
the blackened head o? Orfwith "h m'^h'^^'^'wUh ""n^
conscious humour, he had used as a pillow through the"
sto^e •• Ar^'T^l'?? ^''*' "" ^«« «ft" all s^ftef than
stone. Also, I believe that in his heart he honed tha^
he might find an opportunity of destroying fhrbi^e!
and earlier edition of Oro in the cave hpfo^ i* «,-.^i^
/aalaX.'?ecteJ,°rc^e d^^^tt afi^rEE
dark p aces. When we reached tfe statue I learned tt
ZT ' ^l^«"'embered the smell he had detected at its
nr^.J /"' P'''"^"' "^^y' ^^'""^ Bastin supposed to
rnvTstl^trs.' "^' ^"' "^^ ^"'^-^ *° co^LZ\Ts
We went straight to the statue, although Bicklev
passed the half-burled machines w th evidfnt reJw
;J;^ritt^ '"P'-h' '•'" ^'''^"^ "■^^* ^' the Sng sun^ Si
^^ J- Vir** '■*''^' ^«^ealing all its wondrous work-
mansh-D and the majestv-for no other word desSs
^^ \u *°'"^^^«' terrifying countenance that ZpS!d
above the wrappings of the shroud. Indeed, I was^on
v.nced that originally this monument had beeniaad"
here m order that on certain days of the vMr ♦!,»
might fall upon It thus, when "^^robably "Xorshippe",^
assembled to adore their hallowed symbol. AfS'^T
this was common in ancient days : witness thi. l„.f,^!!l
of the awful Three who sit in th^deSest recesJs of ^
temple of Abu Simbel, on the Nile. ^^^^^^^ of the
The Dwellers in the Tomb 115
T j^® /"^ *"*• grazed our fill, at least Bickley and
I did, for Bastin was occupied in making a careful
comparison between the head of his wooden Oro and
that of the statue.
"There is no doubt that they are very much alike,"
he said. "Why, whatever is that dog doing? I think
It IS going mad," and he pointed to Tommy who was
digging furiously at the base of the lowest step, as at
home I have seen him do at roots that sheltered a
rabbit.
Tommy's energy was so remarkable that at length it
seriously attracted our attention. Evidently ht meant
that It should do so, for occasionally he sprang back
to me barking, then returned and sniffed and scratched.
Bickley knelt down and smelt at the stone.
It IS an odd thing, Humphrey," he said, "but there
is a strange odour here, a very pleasant odour like that
of sandal wood or attar of roses."
"I never heard of a rat that smelt like sandal wood
or attar of roses," said Bastin. "Look out that it isn't
Si snsKc
I knelt down beside Bickley, and in clearing away
the deep dust from what seemed to be the bottom of the
^ep, which was perhaps four feet in height, by accident
thrust my amateur spade somewhat strongly against its
base where it rested upon the rocky floor.
Next moment a wonder came to pass. The whole
massive rock began to turn outwards as though upon a
pivot! I saw It coming and grabbed Bickley by the
collar, dragging him back so that we just rolled clear
before the great block, which must have weighed several
tons, fell down and crushed us. Tommy saw it too
rr.fJf ;», ?"^ /u!"'^ Ifte. for the edge of the block
caught the tip of his tail and caused him to emit a
most piercing howl. But we did not think of Tommv
and his woes; we did not think of our own escape or of
anything else because of the marvel that appeared to
us. Seated there upon the ground, after our backward
tumble, we could see into the space which lav behind
the fallen step, for there the light of the sun penetrated
(■■',
''.J
i
t
t
!i;
"6 When the World Shook
«»,r;I-' /'''" '''^" '*}■ 8*^« ""e was that of the iewelled
shr.ne of some meUiieval saint which, by good fo«une
had escaped the plunderers; there are st.^lS Sing
l«M 1°'}"^' ''Shone and glittered, apparently wh^
gold and diamonds, although as a matter of fac thJrl
were no diamonds, nor was^'it gold which g eSd bit
some ancient metal, or rather amalgam, whicTIs now
los to the wor d, the same that waf us;d in the tube^
I dn nn;''r''''""'f • ^ "''"'' "^«» '' <^«"tained gold, bS?
I do not know. At any rate, it was equally lasting and
even more beautiful, though lighter in colour ^ *"''
fhat^f . 1 '""V ""^ adorned recess which resembled
U%^^Jl\^''^J"'^^y -'?^^ ^'"' '"o flashing objects tha"
v7uftttwL^'£ ^"'^ "'-'^^'>' ^^^ wholf widWS
reallyTSd not^'sSak!* ^"^"^'^^ ^^'^ -^ «"g-. for
co4?aX%le in V^e^r^.^a^^^^^ .".P^ ^ "^^
«,t,it R f««^0"ds later we were crawling into that vault
while Bastin, still nursing the head of Oro as though
thZTu^^^I' ^'°°'^ ^°"^"sed outside muuerine some-
thing about desecrating hallowed graves ^
f^ . f .1. ■ ,' """' "M ™'y strone. but sufBcienl
a^nrut ?n7w°e 'ir '" ''' ^'°°'"- "^'^ ^''"-S
ente^f'?or\U"'^" '^,' ''°°'^ °" °"'- '^^^ ^^nd as we
entered for this crystal was as transparent as olate
glass, lay a most wonderful old man, clad in a eleam
in^thrm[dHlf ''^ '°^'- ^if "'"^ '^^'■^' which was?arted"
in the middle, as we could see beneath the edge of the
The Dwellers in the Tomb n;
were'slowv'wii^"' -rr'' ''^ '"^ «""'' "''^ '"•* heard
were snowy whue. I he man was tall, at least six fe^f
loZZ^^^ I" height, and rather spare.' 1 is hands w^e
n,n,?l» " *r? '"? ^^'^^ "i"' ''"ed our gaze, for it was
marvellous, like the face of a god, and, as w^ noticed at
S rh"'l'^""= resemblance to that of'the Ttatue ab^ve
Jnd lonl'^T *"' ^'■K°"^ ""^ •"«^«'^«. the nose str^
h uil^' *"^ "^"""^ *'«rn and clear-cut. while the
cheekbones were rather high, and the eylbrows arched
or^o^'^^t^TJlt' "' "^^y han^dsomToW l;t
oi gooa Diood, and as the mumm es of Seti and other.:
show us, such they have been for thou^n^ of Jears
Only this man differed from all others becauM of the
fearful dignity stamped upon his features Liking at
him I began to think at once of the prophet Elijah «
he must have appeared rising to heavenf enhanced bv
he more earthly glory of ^lomon. for althZh the
o'n^eT4T1dfa^ On'lv^r'^''^ is unknown, of S oSe
luiiLeives laeas. Unly it seemed probable that Eliiah
may have looked more benign. Here there was no
ben^nity. only terrible force fnd infinite wTsdom
ful M^t hTP'^''"/ •:."" h ^'"^"^d a little and feluhank-
ful that he was dead. For to tell the truth I was afraid
o the uh-f°™ '^^""tenance which, I should add. was
of the whiteness of paper, although the cheeks still
of th:'coiSr °' -'«"-■.- perfect ^as Ih^ preSation
of am^azcm'ir'"^ "' '' *'^'" ^''''^'y ^'^ '" « voice
"I say, look here, in the other coffin."
X turned, looked, and nearly collapsed on the floor
a bbw'"ohf't"h: ^Tl' '^^" k""'''^'' sZeusZ
a Diow. Oh r there before me lay all loveliness such
loneliness that there burst from rJy UpsTlnvolin7a^
"Alas ! that she should be dead I "
voun/Trhan^t"' ^ ^VPPOsed, at least she looked
young, perhaps five or six and twenty years of age.
^
''
a \
xi8 When the World Shook
or so I judged. There she lay, her tall and delicate
shape half-hidden in masses of rich-hued hair in colour
of a ruddy blackness. I know not how else to describe
it, since never have I seen any of the same tint. More-
over, it shone with a life of its own as though it had
been dusted with gold. From between the masses of
this hair appeared a face which I can only call divine.
There was every beauty that woman can boast, from
the curving eyelashes of extraordinary length to the
sweet and tiuman mouth. To these charms also were
added a wondrous smile and an air of kind dignity,
very different from the fierce pride stamped upon the
countenance of the old man who was her companion in
death.
She was clothed in some close-fitting robe of white
broidered with gold; pearls were about her neck, lying
far down upon the perfect bosom, a girdle of gold and
shinine gems encircled her slender waist, and on her
little feet were sandals fastened with red stones like
rubies. In truth, she was a splendid creature, and yet,
I know not how, her beauty suggested more of the
spirit than of the flesh. Indeed, in a way, it was un-
earthly. My senses were smitten, it pulled at my heart-
strings, and yet its unutterable strangeness seemed to
awake memories within me, though of what I could not
tell. A wild fancy came to me that I must have known
this heavenly creature in some past life.
By now Bastin had joined us, and, attracted by my
exclamation and by the attitude of Bickley, who was
staring down at the coffin with a fixed look upon his
face, not unlike that of a pointer when he scents game,
he began to contemplate the wonder within it in his
slow way.
"Well, I never!" he said. "Do you think the
Glittering Lady in there is human?"
"The Glittering Lady is dead, but I suppose that
she was human in her life," I answered in an awed
whisper.
"Of course she is dead, otherwise she would not be
in that glass coffin. I think I should like to read the
The Dwellers in the Tomb 119
Burial Service over lier, which I daresay was never
done when she was put in there."
"How do you know that she is dead?" asitcd
Bicitlejr^ in a sharp voice and speaicing for the first
time. "I have seen hundreds of corpses, and mummies
too, but never any that looked like these."
I stared at him. It was strange to hear Bickley,
the scoffer at miracles, suggesting that this greatest of
all miracles might be possible.
"They must have been here a long time," I said,
"for although human, thev are not, I think, of any
people known to the worici to-day ; their dress, every-
thing, shows it, though perhaps thousands of years
ago and I stopped.
"Quite so," answered Bickley; "I agree. That is
why I suggest that they may have belonged to a race
who knew what we do not, namely, how to suspend
animation for great periods of time.'*
I said no more, nor did Bastin, who was now engajjed
in studying the old man, and for once, wonderstruck
and overcome. Bickley, however, took one of the
candles and began to make a close examination of the
coffins. So did Tommy, who sniffed along the join of
that of the Glittering^ LaBy until his nose reached a
certain spot, where it remained, while his black tail
began to wag in a delighted fashion. Bickley pushed
nim away and investigated.
"As I thought," he said— "air-holes. See I "
I looked, and there, bored through the crystal of
the coffin in a line with the face of its occupant, were
a number of little holes that either by accident or design
outlined the shape of a human mouth.
"They are not airtight," muttered Bickley; "and if
air can enter, how can dead flesh remain like that for
ages ? "
Then he continued his search upon the other side.
, "The lid of this coffin works on hinges," he said.
Here they are, fashioned of the crystal itself. A living
pers-- within could have pulled it down before the
senscS departed."
i
\
\
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Z30 When the World Shook
"No," I an.swered; "fur look, here is a crystal bolt
at the end and it is shot from without."
This puzzled him ; then as though struck by an idea,
lie began to examine the othor conin.
"I ve got it I" he exclaimed presently. "The old
god in here " (somehow we nil thought of this old man
as not quite normal) "shut down the Glittering Lady's
coffin and bolted it. His own is not bolted, although
the bolt exists in the same place. He just got in and
pulled down the lid. Oh 1 what nonsense I am talking
— for how can such things be? Let us get out and
think."
So we crept from the sepulchre in which the per-
fumed air had begun to oppress us, and sat ourselves
down upon the floor of the cave, where for a while we
remained silent.
"I am very thirsty," said Bastin presently. "Those
smells seem to have dried me up. I am going to get
some tea — I mean water, as unfortunately there is no
tea," and he set olT towards the mouth of the cave.
We followed him, I don't quite know why, except
that we wished to breathe freely ouu:de, also we knew
that the sepulchre and its contents would be as safe as
they had been for — well, how long?
It proved to be a beautiful morning outside. We
walked up and down enjoying it sub-consciously, for
really our — that is Bickley's and my own — intelligences
were concentrated on that sepulchre and its contents.
Where Bastin's may have been I do not know, perhaps
in a visionary teapot, since I was sure that > would
take him a day or two to appreciate the significance of
our discoveries. At any rate, he wandered off, making
no remarks about them, to drink water, I suppose.
Presently he began to shout to us from the end of
the table-rock and we went to see the reason of his
noise. It proved to be very satisfactory, for while we
were in the cave the Orofenans had brought absolutely
everything belonging to us, together with a large supply
of food from the main island. Not a single article was
missing; even our books, a can with the bottom out,
The Dwellers in the Tomb 121
and the broken pieces of a little pocicct mirror had been
religiously trunspcrted, and with these u few articles
n • J ■ °*"" *'**'*" ''°™ "»' notably my pocket-knife.
Evidently a great taboo had been laid upon all our
possessions. 1 hey were now carefully arranged in one
of the grooves of the rock that Bickley supposed had
been made by the wheels of aeroplanes, which was whv
we had not seen them at once.
Each of us rushed for what we desired most— Bastin
n^.1,1"' 7 "if. ™",''*'«« o^ tea. I for my diaries, and
Bickley for his chest of instruments and medicines.
Ihese we removed to the mouth of the cave, and aft<r
them the other things and the food ; also a bell tent and
•some camp furniture that we had brought from the
ship. I hen Bastin made some tea of which he drank
four large pannikins, having first said grace over it
with unwonted fervour. Nor did we disdain our share
of the beverage, although Bickley preferred cocoa and
1 coffee. Cocoa and coffee we had no time to make
then, and in view of that sepulchre in the cave, what
had we to do with cocoa and coffee?
So Bickley and I said to tacii other, and yet presently
he changed his mind and in a special metal machine
carefully made some extremely strong black coffee which
he poured into a thermos flask, previously warmed with
hot water, adding thereto about a claret glass of brandy.
Also he extracted certain drugs from his medicine-chest,
and with them, as I noted, a hypodermic syringe, which
he first boiled in a kettle and then shut up in a little tube
with a glass stopper.
These preparations finished, he called to Tommy to
pive jiim the scraps of our meal. But there was no
I ommy. The dog was missing, and though we hunted
everywhere we could not find him. Finally .e con-
cluded that he had wandered off down the -ach on
business of his own and would return in due course.
We could not bother about Tommy just then.
. After making some further preparations and fidget-
ing about a little, Bickley announced that as we had
now some proper paraffin lamps of the powerft-; sort
4.
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\,
122 When the World Shook
which are known as "hurricane," he proposed by their
aid to carry out further examinations in the cave.
"I thinli I shall stop where I am," said Bastin,
helpmg himself from the kettle to a fifth pannikin of tea.
Those corpses are very interesting, but I don't see any
use in staring at them again at present. One can always
do that at any time. I have missed Marama once already
by being away in that cave, and as I have a lot to say
to him about my people I don't want to be absent in
case he should return."
"To wash up the things, I suppose," said Bickley
with a sniff; "or perhaps to eat the tea-leaves."
"Well, as a matter of fact, I have noticed that these
natives have a peculiar taste for tea-leaves. I think they
believe them to be a medicine, but I don't suppose they
would come so far for them, though perhaps they might
in the hope of getting the head of Oro. Anyhow, I am
going to stop here."
"Pray do," said Bickley. "Are you ready, Hum-
phrey ? " j jt
I nodded, and he handed to me a felt-covered flask of
the non-conducting kind, filled with boiling water, a tin
of preserved milk, and a little bottle of meat extract of a
most concentrated sort. Then, having lit two of the
hurricane lamps and seen that they were full of oil we
started back up the cave.
CHAPTER XI
RESURRECTION
We reached the sepulchre without stopping to look at
or statues now ? A ^*' ''"' "^^ ''^'^ ^b°"t machines
°o hear fow 1h r^ ""' «PProached we were astonished
., ~, '°*.a"d cavernous growlings.
halting '^VnTV'"'^ ^T^'- i" '*^"^'" «*'d Bickley
tSdolbeaTte'r?^-'''"^^^' 'fs Tommy. What caj;
Ivin^^ P^fP'^ '"' ^"'* ''^^'■^ 5"^ enough was Tommy
lying on the top of the Glittering Lady's coffin a^^
&1f menL''^' ^'f '^' ^^^ stan'ding7p"upon
off ^^T'trii A ^^ ^"^^y^"" " ^^S' however, he jumped
°^ .? ^1 ^'s'^^d ™"nd, licking my hand. '^
_^ That s very strange," I exclaimed.
.< wh//'^"^" than everything else," said Bickley.
^ What are you gomg to do?" I asked.
withfhToffc./^'^H""''' ^'t «"«^«^ed. "beginning
witn mat of the old god, smce I would rather exoeriment
on h.m. I expect he will crumble into dust.^ But "f
by chance he doesn't I'll jam a little strychnine m"xed
with some other drugs of which you don't know S
natnes mto one of his veins and see if anything hapVns
If It doesn't, it won't hurt him, and if it doe^well"
'vho knows? Now give me a hand." ^"^s-well,
h„.t Tk"* 1° ^^^ left-hand coffin and by inserting the
to nit"/''' ^^''^ ° ^y '^"'^«' °^ which the real u^se is
iirholesT h'' °"J °^ ^^'T ^'^^'' '"*° °"« °f 'he little
civS liH .f ffl ^esS"bed, managed to raise the heavy
crystal hd sufficiently to enable us to force a piece of
wood between .t and the top. The rest was eSy^for
the hinges being of crystal had not corroded. In two
minutes it was open. °
"3
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124 When the World Shook
From the chest came an overpowering spicy odour,
and with it a veritable breath of warm air before which
we recoiled a little. Bickley took a pocket thermometer
which he had at hand and glanced at it. It marked a
temperature of 82 degrees in the sepulchre. Having
noted this, he thrust it into the coffin between the crystal
wall and its occupant. Then we went out and waited a
little while to give the odours time to dissipate, for
they made the head reel.
After five minutes or so we returned and examined
the thermometer. It had risen to 98 degrees, the
natural temperature of the human body.
" What do you make of that if the man is dead? "
he whispered.
I shook my head, and as we had agreed, set to help-
in^y him to lift the body from the coffin. It was of good
weight, quite eleven stone I should say; moreover, it
■was not stiff, for the hip joints bent. We got it out
and laid it on a blanket we had spread on the floor of
the sepulchre. While I was thus engaged I saw some-
thing that nearly caused me to loose my hold from
astonishment. Beneath the head, the centre of the back
and the feet were crystal boxes about eight inches square,
or rather crystal blocks, for in them I could see no
opening, and these boxes emitted a faint phosphorescent
light. I touched one of them and found that it was
quite warm.
"Great heavens! " I exclaimed, "here's magic."
"There's no such thing," answered Bickley in his
usual formula. Then an explanation seemed to strike
him and he added, "Not magic but radium or some-
thing of the sort. That's how the temperature was kept
up. In sufficient quantity it is practically indestructible,
you see. My word ! this old gentleman knew a thing
or two."
Again we waited a little while to see if the body began
to crumble on exposure to the air, I taking the oppor-
tunity to make a rough sketch of it in my pocket-book
in anticipation of that event. But it did not ; it remained
quite sound.
Resurrection
125
"Here ^oes," said Bickley. "If he should h^
Sf it 'is now ifZZ"'^''°'' ^ ' ^^"PP°'^« ^^ hL inc.
w^s;XeS'the?ontems" '^ "'^"^' ^'"^^ ^''^'^ ^^^^
I do^MrL-. • L • ^ l':?"fi^ht I would try the arm first.
I mnHo "''""S^ *''''"« ''y uncovering him."
scntly! '""' ^^^ stirnng!" I gasped pre-
oickley bent down and placed his^ear to the heart—
LSscooe 1;^ h '■*', 'l' •'"^ ^^'^'^'J '"'■« before S a
stet^ioscope, but had been unable to detect any move-
aweVvoS.'" '' '' '''^'""'"S: to beat," he said in an
is, ?t^is" ""' ''^^^'"'^ *''" stethoscope, and added, "It
the m\^n'Oin'!f'' ^^fi'^n^f"' ?f cotton wool and laid it on
hou^h verv'i«'in.r''''n-'\y, " ""^^^d' ^"^ ^^^ breathing,
haviS SIh ^- .?■ ^'''^ '°°^ '"°'-« 'cotton wool and
olt nlnn^H f ^omethmg from his medicine-chest on
-I believe it wT' '^ T^^-l^ ^'"'^'^ 'he man's nostrils
I oeiieve it was sal volatile.
Nothing further happened for a little while and to
emmv'c'ffin''''R°" r """'^ ' stared absentb-'into the
empty coffin. Here I saw what had escaped our notice
T .^ ^"'f " P'^'es of white metal and cut upon them S
loxes which Tl ""P"- ?^y°"'^ these an^d the Rowing
h^ theToffin have mentioned, there was nothing elsf
ha mo,^fn/.J ^^J^ "° '""« t° ^'^^'"i"e them, for at
to hrTX ^i ^'f* man opened his mouth and began
to breathe evidently with some discomfort and effort
r^ T/'? '"ngs filled themselves with air. Thin his
eyelids lifted, revealing a wonderful pair of dark growing
126 When the World Shook
eyes beneath. Next he tried to sit up but would have
fallen, had not Bickley supported him with his arm.
I do not think he saw Bickley, indeed he shut his
eyes again as though the light hurt them, and went into
a kind of faint. 1 nen it was that Tommy, who all this
while had been watching the proceedings with grave in-
terest, came forward, wagging his tail, and licked the
man's face. At the touch of the dog's red tongue, he
opened his eyes for the second time. Now he saw — not
us but Tommy, for after contemplating him for a fev.'
seconds, something like a smile appeared upon his fierce
but noble face. More, he lifted his hand and laid it
on the little dog's head, as though to pat it kindly. Half
a minute or so later his awakening senses appreciated our
presence. The incipient smile vanished and was re-
placed by a somewhat terrible frown.
Meanwhile Bickiey had poured out some of the hot
coffee laced with brandy into the cup that was screwed
on the top of the thermos flask. Advancing to the man
whom I supported, he put it to his lips. He tasted and
made a wry face, but presently he began to sip, and
ultimately swallowed it all. The effect of the stimulant
was wonderful, for in a few minutes he came to life
completely and was even able to sit up without support.
For quite a long while he gazed at us gravely, taking
us in and everything connected with us. For instance,
Bickley's medicine-case which lay open showing the
little vulcanite tubes, a few instruments and other out-
fit, engaged his particular attention, and I saw at once
that he understood what it was. Thus his arm still
smarted where the needle had been driven in and on
the blanket lay the syringe. He looked at his arm,
then looked at the syringe, and nodded. The paraffin
hurricane lamps also seemed to interest and win his
approval. We two men, as I thought, attracted him
least of all ; he just summed up us and our garments,
more especially the garments, with a few shrewd
glances, and then seemed to turn his thoughts to Tommy,
who had seated himself quite contentedly at his side,
evidently accepting him as a new addition to our party.
Resurrection 127
I confess that this behaviour on Tommy's part re-
assiired me not a little. I am a great believer in the
nstincts of animals, especially of dogs, and I felt certain
that If this man had not been in all essentials human like
ourselves, lommy would not have tolerated him. In
the same way the sleeper's clear liking for Tommy at
whom he looked much oftener and with greater kindness
than he did at us, suggested that there was goodness in
him somewhere, since although a dog in its wonderful
tolerance may love a bad person in whom it smells out
hidden virtue, no really bad person ever loved a doe. or.
1 may add, a child or a flower.
.u.f^ ^T?"^''u*?f [^"' ^^^ "o'<l sod," as we had
christened him while he was in his coffin, during all our
association with him, cared infinitely more for Tommy
than he did for any of us, a circumstance that ultimately
was not without its influence upon our fortunes. Bu't
tor this there was a reason as we learned afterwards,
also he was not really so amiable as I hoped.
When we had looked at each other for a lone while
the sleeper began to arrange his beard, of which the
length seemed to surprise him, especially as Tommy
was seated on one end of it. Finding this out and
apparently not wishing to disturb Tommy, he gave up
the occupation, and after one or two attempts, for his
tongue and lips still seemed to be stiff, addressed us in
some sonorous and musical language, unlike any that
we had ever heard. We shook our heads. Then by
an afterthought I said "Good day" to him in the
language of the Orofenans. He puzzled over the word
as though It were more or less familiar to him, and
when I repeated it, gave it back to me with a difference
indeed, but in a way which convinced us that he quite
understood what I meant. The conversation went no
turther at the moment because just then some memory
seemed to stnkt him. ■'
He was sitting with his back against the coffin of the
tihttenng Lady, whom therefore he had not seen. Now
be began to turn round, and being too weak to do so
motioned me to help him. I obeyed, while Bickley'
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128 When the World Shook
guessing, his purpose, held up one of the hurricane
lamps that he might see better. With a kind of tierce
eagerness he surveyed her who lay within the coffin, and
after he had done so, uttered a sigh as of intense relief.
Next he pointed to the metal cup out of which he
had drunk. Bickley filled it again from the thermos
flask, which I observed excited his keen interest, for,
having touched the flask with his hand and found that
it was cool, he appeared to marvel that the fluid coming
from it should be hot and steaming. Presently he
smiled as though he had got the clue to the mystery,
and swallowed his second drink of coffee and spirit.
This done, he motioned to us to lift the lid of the lady's
coffin, pointing out a certain catch in the bolts which at
first we could not master, for it will be remembered that
on this coffin these were shot.
In the end, by pursuing the same methods that we
had used in the instance of his own, we raised the coffin
lid and once more were driven to retreat from the
sepulchre for a while by the overpowering odour like
to that of a whole greenhouse full of tuberoses, that
flowed out of it, inducing a kind of stupefaction from
which even Tommy fled.
When we returned it was to find the man kneeling
by llie side of the coffin, for as yet he could not stand,
with his glowing eyes fixed upon the face of her who
slept therein and waving his long arms above her.
"Hypnotic business I Wonder if it will work,"
whispered Bickley. Then he lifted the syringe and
looked inquiringly at the man, who shook his head, and
went on with his mesmeric passes.
I crept round him and took my stand by the sleeper's
head, that I might watch her face, which was well worth
watching, while Bickley, with his medicines at hand,
remained near her feet, I think engaged in disinfecting
the syringe in some spirit or acid. I believe he was about
to make an attempt to use it when suddenly, as though
beneath the influence of the hypnotic passes, a change
appeared on the Glittering Lady's face. Hitherto,
beautiful as it was, it had been a dead face though one
I \
Resurrection 129
hLhrind" J'**' '"^^.^"'^^•-'"ly been cut of! while in full
2fh^ll X^*""' i ^"^ '*°"'«' °' a' t'>e most a day or
so before. Now it began to live again ; it was as though
inrlS^'^t^'^" after expression flitted across the features;
o momenT.h'f'^H'^ '° '?''t!"^u" ^ '""^'^ ^^o*" -"Omen
diff^^^ inV •!. ^''^y '"'ght have belonged to several
facfnf th-=f "'"'"^'f ' ^1'°^^'^ ^^"^^ ^^«s belutiful. The
fac of these remarkable changes with the suggestion of
both R[."!l1P"'°!l^'""^,*'"*='^ '^^y conveyed^impressed
both Bickley and myself very much inde^. Thenlhe
^[f "^N^r^ tumultuously/it even appeared to s^rJg!
gle. Next the eyes opened. They were full of wondeT
even of fear, but oh f what marvellous eyes. I do noi
know how to describe them, I cannot even state their
exact colour, except that it was dark, somethinVlfke
the blue of sapphires of the deepest tint, and yft no?
??fh '' '^i;^'i "^' r^u ^^' «« « ^I^^'s- They shufagahi
as though the light hurt them, then once more opfned
and wandered about, apparently without seeing,
over Jr"^nH^ ^^ fpund my face, for I was still bending
aIZ. ' Ai ' '^.^^'"^ ^''"^' appeared to take it in by
irTnf in ^r' :\rr^ *° V^"'^'' ^"^^ ''" ^"^^ ^uman
TZ^rt r * t ^t'11-sleepmg heart. At least the fear
passed from her features and was replaced by a faint
smile, such as a patient sometimes gives to one known
and well bved, as the effects of chloroform pass awjy
l^L 1 ^^ ^^% '"'P''^'' ^^."^ ^'t*^ «" earnest" searching
E S!II.'"'*^''tu ^' ^V^"" ^''' ^'""^ """^ing her arms!
lifted them and threw them round my neck.
n lilfi!f ? inan stared bending his imperial brows into
fhro Ih mJ"/ ''"' "^'^ "'?l'''J'^- ^'"'^^^y Staged also
hrough his g as^s and sniffed as though in disapproval,
nullLi^^T^'^ quite still, fighting with a wHd im:
«nH hi W^ ^l',f 't^ 'Pf ^' °"^ ^°"'d ^n awakening
and beloved chi d. I Joubt if I could have done so
J^^nn"' h'.^""^ ^ ^f immovable; my heart sLmTd
to stop and all my muscles to be paralysed.
I do not know for how long this endured, but I do
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130 When the World Shook
know how it ended. Presently in the intense silence I
heard Bastin's heavy voice and looking round, saw his
big head projecting into the sepulchre.
"Well, I never 1" he said, "you seem to lave
woke them up with a vengeance. If you begin like
that with the lady, there will be complications before
you have done, Arbuthnot."
Talk of being brought back to earth with a rush !
I could have killed Bastin, and Bickley, turning on him
like a tiger, told him to be off, find wood and light a
large fire in front of the statue. I think he was about
to argue when the Ancient gave him a glance of his
fierce eyes, which aliarmed him, and he departed, be-
wildered, to return presently with the wood.
But the sound of his voice had broken the spell.
The Lady let her arms fall with a start, and shut her
eyes again, seeming to faint. Bickley sprang forward
with his sal volatile and applied it to her nostrils, the
Ancient not interfering, for he seemed to recognise
that he had to deal with a man of skill and one who
meant well by them.
In the end we brought her round again and, to omit
details, Bickley gave her, not coffee and brandy, but a
mixture he compounded of hot water, preserved milk
and meat essence. The effect of it on her was wonderful,
since a few minutes after swallowing it she sat up in
the coffin. Then we lifted her from that narrow bed
in which she had slept for— ah ! how long ? and per-
ceived that beneath her also were crystal boxes of the
radiant, heat-giving substance. We sat her on the
floor of the sepulchre, wrapping her also in a blanket.
Now it was that Tommy, after frisking round her as
though in welcome of an old friend, calmly established
himself beside her and laid his black head upon her
knee. She noted it and smiled for the first time, a
marvellously sweet and gentle smile. More, she placed
her slender hand upon the dog and stroked him feebly.
Bickley tried to make her drink some more of his
mixture, but she refused, motioning him to give it to
Tommy. This, however, he would not do because there
Resurrection 131
was but one cup. Presently both of the sleepers becan
to shiver, which caused Bickley anxiety. Abusine
Bastin beneath his breath for being so long with the
fare, he drew the blankets closer about them.
Then an idea came to him, and he examined the
glowing boxes in the coffins. They were loose, beinp
merely set in prepared cavities in the crystal. Wrapping
our handkerchiefs about his hand, he took them out and
placeH them around the wakened patients, a proceed-
ing of which the Ancient nodded approval. Just then
too, Bastin returned with his first load of firewood, and
soon we had a merry blaze going just outside the
sepulchre. I saw that they observed the lighting of
this fare by means of a match with much interest.
Now they grew warm again, as indeed we did also—
too warm. Then in my turn I had an idea. I knew
that by now the sun would be beating hotly against the
rock of the mount, and suggested to Bickley, that, if
possible, the best thing we could do wouid be to get
them into its life-giving rays. He agreed, if we could
make them understand and they were able to walk. So
I tried. First I directed the Ancient's attention to the
mouth of the cave which at this distance showed as a
white circle of light. He looked at it and then at
me with grave inquiry. I made motions to suggest
that he snould proceed there, repeating the word "Sun"
m the Orofenan tongue. He understood at once, though
whether he read my mind rather than what I said I am
not sure. Apparently the Glittering Lady understood
also and seemed to be most anxious to go. Only she
looked rather pitifully at her feet and shook her head.
This decided me.
I do not know if I have mentioned anywhere that
I am a tall man and very muscular. She was tall, also,
but as I judged not so very heavy after her long fast!
At any rate I felt quite certain that I could carry her
for that distance. Stooping down, I lifted her up,
signing to her to put her arms round my neck, which
she did. Then calling to Bicklev and Bastin to bring
along the Ancient between them, with some difficulty
(■'-
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132 When the World Shook
I struggled out of thu sepulchre, anu started down the
cave. She was more heavy than I thought, and yet I
could have wished the journey longer. To begin with
she seemed quite trustful and happy in my arms, when;
she lay with her head against my shoulder, smiling a
little as a child might do, especially when I had to stop
and throw her long hair round my neck like a muffler, to
prevent it from trailing in the dust.
A bundle of lavender, or a truss of new-mown hay,
could not have been more sweet to carry, and there was
something electric about the touch of her, which went
through and through me. Very soon it was over, and
we were out of the cave into the full glory of the tropical
sun. At first, that her eyes might become accustomed to
its light and her awakened bwly to its heat, I set her
down where shadow fell from the over-hanging rock,
in a canvas deck chair tha' had been brought by Marama
with the o.her things, throwing the rug about her to
protect her from such wind as there was. She nestled
gratefully into the soft seat and shut her eyes, for the
motion had tired her. I noted, however, that she drew
in the sweet air with long breaths.
Then I turned to observe the arrival of the Ancient,
who was being borne between Bickley and Bastin in
what children know as a dandy-chair, which is formed
by two people crossing their hands in a peculiar fashion.
It says much for the tremendous dignity of his presence
that even thus, with one arm round the neck of Bickley
and the other round that of Bastin and his long white
beard falling almost to the ground, he still looked most
imposing.
Unfortunately, however, just as they were emerging
from the cave, Bastin, always the most awkward of
creatures, managed to leave hold with one hand, so' that
his passenger nearly came to the ground. Never shall
I forget the look that he gave him. Indeed, I think that
from this moment he hatSl Bastin. Bickley he respected
as a man of intelligence and learning, although in com-
parison with his own, th' 'atter was infantile and crude ;
me he tolerated and even liked; but Bastin he detested.
Resurrection 133
Jnn*;^!^- °"* °f °i" P*"^ ^°^ Whom he felt anything
approaching real affection was the spaniel Tommy '
r.,«,r!„^' I "? ''r";. ^?""nately uninjured, on aome
we^ moved hn»h" ')''^''^°^- \hen, after a little Jh^e!
we moved both of them into the sun. It was ouite
curious to sec them expand there. As Bickley ^id. That
happened to them mfght well be compar«f to The de-
yefopment of a butterfly which has just broken from thJ
living grave of its chrysalis and crept into the fu7 hot
radiance of the light. I.s crinkled wing? unfold 'thdr
brilliant tints develop; in an hour or two it is Mrfec
glormus prepared for life and flight, a new creature '
thev .rihr.^'^!"' '*"u P'i'' f™'" '"'''"'^"' to moment
thev gathered strength and v gour. Near-bv to thi>m
as It happened, stood a large bafket of tKscl>is naf^e
h.l ^K.""!^^' that morning by the Orofenans, and It
these the Lady looked with longing. With Bicklev's
permission, I offered them to her and to the Ancient
first peeling them with my fingers. They afe of them
fh^'il^rn V"^. """1' '•"'* *°"'d ^^^' g°"« o« had n?t
n^^.lA?h L^^^^y^ ^^f""^ untoward consequences, re-
Zrti^ ^^^^^- r'^Srain the results were^ wonderful,
for half an hour afterwards thev seemed to be quite
f m"^ii u "r "^ assistance the Glittering Lady, as I
ose^l th' ^°K •' '^V'r ^. ^'^ "°' ''"<"^ I^*"- name,
rose from the chair, and, leaning on me, tottered a few
s eps fonvard. Then she stood looking at the sky and
fnl «n/T'^ panorama of nature benelth, and stretch-
ing out her arms as though in worship. Oh I how
lieavenry ^r™'' "'*' "^^ ^"""^'^^ ^''"'"^ - "^^
Now for the first time I heard her voice. It was soft
sp"p*r„.H »« ^-u '." ,M "^^u " "'""°"s bell-like tone that
seemed to vibrate like the sound of chimes heard from
far away. Never have I listened to such another voice.
i>he pointed to the sun whereof the light turned her
radiant hair and garments to a kind of golden glory,
and called 't by some name that I could not understand.
I shook my head, whereon she gave it a different name
taken, 1 suppose, from another language. Again I
I
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X34 When the World Shook
■hook my head and she tried a third time. Jo «ny
delight this word was practically the same that the Oio-
fenans used for "sun."
"Yes," 1 said, speaking very slowly, ' so it is called
by the people of this land."
She understood, for she answered in much the same
„ kat, then, do you call It ?
"Sun in the English tongue," I replied.
"Sun. English," she repeated after me, then added,
"How are you named, Wanderer?"
"Humphrey," I answered.
" Hum— fe— ry 1" she said as though she were learn-
ing the word, "and those?"
"Bastin and Bickley," I replied.
Over these patronymics she shook her head ; as yet
they were too much for her.
"How are you named. Sleeper? I asked.
"Yva," she answered. ., , „ » j
" A beautiful name for one who is beautiful, 1 de-
clared with enthusiasm, of course always in the rich
Orofenan dialect which by now I could talk well enough.
She repeated the words once or twice, then of a
sudden caught their meaning, for she smiled and even
coloured, saying hastily with a wave of her hand towards
the Ancient who stood at a distance between Bastin and
Bickley, "My father, Oro; great man; great kir
^"^^At^his information I started, for it was startling to
learn that here was the original Oro, who was stil
worshipped by the Orofenans, although of his actual
existence they had known nothing for uncounted time.
Also I was glad to learn that he was her father and not
her old husband, for to me that would have been horrible,
a desecration too deep for words. .
"How long did you sleep, Yva?" I asked pointing
towards the sepulchre in the cave. , u i, »,«,
After a little thought she understood and shook her
head hopelessly, then by an afterthought, she said,
" Stars tell Oro to-night."
Resurrection
got I li^dTuet" J'aTr h r *''!." ' '''"K -^ *
coffin which denied roha^.^ ^'*"" "'°*' ?'*'« '« «he
At this p^n" our converi^" '"*™^*^*' °" "'"'"•
the Ancient hmsdfaDD^^.^H"'] """= '° *" «"<*' '"^
Bickley who wa? en?fi^ "*' '""'"« °" '*>« «'"' of
with iJastin ^'**''' '" »" «nimated argument
fellow Ynd p^ut hrm^^P;:^^^^, he^nTa^^T" ''^ °"^
to te.r^^.Tat'2 isT.L^;^£ileS F.'^ 'l""^ ^-^
not';r2^L^^-^inr-"=^^'5^^^^^
a^^^get some wrtJ.£tii%^-no^;7;L Se
aluSll ?uTfu?of^S^.eP;r '^^^'"^"^'^ -^^ -
2Sn^Si;-i/^SH^K=F-
an ob^sanc. po.ed a litt.: ^ "o^n^l'^^SVeJolr
^.r^j^^ir-tfL^aSEiir-'^-''^^-'"
oLttlfr '''^ " '"^'^'P^ « heathen offering "
uouDtless we were rirrhf f^i- /^ "^""fe-
homage by a little Totbn o^e head A?terTh?s^ ^"'^
sign from him she drank the water Tf,»„ .1 ,• ^' *
refilled and handed to OrrwK^o Md"ittl^.?sTh1
t^tu^Jhte in tVd^ illSSo^n"' ^^-^ ^--
i«v now the direct sunlight was oassincr fr«^ .u
though they were debating what their course of action
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LSKUBdAW
136 When the World Shook
should be. The dispute was lone and earnest. Had we
known what was passing, which I learned afterwards,
it would have made us sufficiently anxious, for the point
at issue was nothing less than whether we should or
should not be forthwith destroyed— an end, it appears,
that Oro was quite capable of bringing about if he so
pleased. Yva, however, had very clear views of her own
on the matter and, as I gather, even dared to threaten
that she would protect us by the use of certain powers at
her command, though what these were I do not know.
While the event hung doubtful Tommy, who was
growing bored with these long proceedings, picked up a
bough still covered with flowers which, after their pretty
fashion, the Orofenans had placed on the top of one
of the baskets of food. This small bough he brought
and laid at the feet of Oro, no doubt in the hope that
he would throw it for him to fetch, a game in which
the dog delighted. For some reason Oro saw an omen
in this simple canine performance, or he may have
thought that the dog was making an offering to him, for
he put his thin hand to his brow and thought a while,
then motioned to Bastin to pick up the bough and give
it to him.
Next he spoke to his daughter as though assenting
to something, for I saw her sigh in relief. No wonder,
for he was conveying his decision to spare our lives and
admit us to their fellowship.
After this again they talked, but in quite a different
tone and manner. Then the Glittering Lady said to
me in her slow and archaic Orofenan :
"We go to rest. You must not follow. We come
back perhaps to-night, perhaps next night. We are
quite safe. You are quite safe under the beard of Oro.
Spirit of Oro watch you. You understand ? "
I said I understood, whereon she answered :
" Good-bye, O Humfe-ry."
" Good-bye, O Yva," I replied bowing.
Thereon they turned and refusing all assistance from
us, vanished into the darkness of the cave leaning upon
each other and walking slowly.
CHAPTER XII
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND YEARS I
their cS^''::j!t'^n'\?:^^f^^:^ Ti'^
at me with a suspicious eye. ' ^'""' '°°'""g
';i know no other," I said.
r^re?^A^xfrt^ol°^^^^^^^^^^^^
them. XTTm fe^rrihl^h^ ^^"' *?°'^ ^"^ '^^'e' ^or
it is light Thev have Lpn"^'^,^',^ ?"'' ^^ before
which I was ffing lomard ZfhJ l^' ^f ^^"'* »«
do not seem to care^for^ork » ^°°''"''^ '^'^
hauS.'"cifth:?ooS''the7;."''° '!.^"J^ '-^ked ex-
talk afterwaiS." ' "' ^ ^ ^°°^ ^«"o*- We'll
Bick^'wh^he madfol'th^r"'^' ^''?*'^' ^ ^''^^ ■
thought the Lepers had gone "''"'"'' ^^ ^'^•''''=' »>«
Bastin!''"Li^^ect ItTtol'^nl^' ''rj'°"'" '"'«""Pted
of the Bible Twch Lven fifti "^^'^ '"'?'^" *° ^^""^^^^
when he is anerv lirnf ri^i^^.^'"'"*'""^ sometimes
fond of heatZTheyl^ouW^n^f Srt f'L'^^^^ '° ^' 1"^
coffins, and you will admit fh^ftK " ^''^" '" "'«'''■
natural, although tS GlitterinifLJ ^-^ ^""^ "°^ *>"'♦«
regards her extlrior " ^''"^""& ^ady ,s so attractive as
himS'to'm™' '''" ""^'^ -'^^ -d addressed
"I don't know what to think of it," he said; "but as
137
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138 When the World Shook
the experience is not natural and everything in the
Universe, so far as we know it, has a natural explana-
tion, I am inclined to the belief that we are suflering
from hallucinations, which in their way are also quite
natural. It does not seem possible that two people can
really have been asleep for an unknown length of time
enclosed in vessels of glass or crystal, kept warm by
radium or some such substance, and then emerge from
them comparatively strong and well. It is contrary to
natural law."
"How about microbes?" I asked. "They are said
to last practically for ever, and they are living things.
So in their case your natural law breaks down."
"That is true," he answered. "Some microbes in a
sealed tube and under certain conditions do appear to
possess indefinite powers of life. Also radium has an
indefinite life, but that is a mineral. Only these people
are not microbes nor are they minerals. Also, experience
tells us that they could not have lived for more than a
few months at the outside in such circumstances as we
seemed to find them."
"Then what do you suggest?"
" I suggest that we did not really find them at all ;
that we have all been dreaming. You know that there
are certain gases which produce illusions, laughing gas
is one of them, and that these gases are sometimes met
with in caves. Now there were very peculiar odours in
that place under the statue, which may have worked
upon our imaginations in some such way. Otherwise
we are up against a miracle, and, as you know, I do not
believe in miracles."
"7 do," said Bastin calmly. "You'll find all about
it in the Bible if you will only take the trouble to read.
Why do you talk such rubbish about gases ? "
"Because only gas, or something of the sort, could
have made us imagine them."
"Nonsense, Bickley 1 Those people were here right
enough. Didn't they eat our fruit and drink the water
I brought them without ever sayinpr thank you ? Only,
they are not human. They are evil spirits, and for my
250,000 Years! 139
^!fi ^ *^^"'^***'"J°.^ *"y "0'« of them, though I
have no doubt Arbuthnot does, as that Glittering Lady
threw her arms round his neck when she wolce up, and
t'r.^k\*^ calhng her by her Christian name, U the
,Ji Christian can be used in connection with her. The
old fellow had the impudence to tell us that he was a
^f^LfP?. " '^ remarkable that he should have called
uS i» .?' ^^',"5 'Ji*^ *^'^ *^*^" ^*>ey *o«hip on the
Orofena " ° ^'° ''"'* '^^ P'**=^ '^" '^ "«">«'^
"As to where they have gone," continued Bicklev.
taking no notice of Bastin, "I really don't know Mv
expectation is, however, that when we go to look to-
morrow mornin^-and I suggest that we should not do
so before then in order that we may give our minds
time to clear-we shall find t..at sepulchre place quiti
empty, even perhaps without the crystal coffins we have
imagined to stand there."
"Perhaps we shall find that there isn't a cave at all
and that we are not sitting on a flat rock outside of it "
suggested Bastin with heavy sarcasm, adding, "You are
r.lh''w»,^°"'' ^^^' ^''^'^'^y- ''"' yo" '^n talk more
rubbish than any man I ever knew."
"The^ told us they would come back to-night or to-
Ke^'?"^ '"'*'• "" *^'=^ '^'' ^^'' "•» youU then.
"I will wait till they come to answer that question.
wJir "^,P ^°' " '^^^^^'"^ try to change our thoughts.
2^ saying." "''" ^""^ "^"^^^ '"'°^ ^''^^ ^«
'•One more question," I said as we rose to start,
selves f^™™^ suffer from hallucinations as well as our-
. "Why not?" answered Bickley. "He is an animal
W/thTni^he^diS"'^"^ "^ ''"''''''' -'^ "- ^"--y
"When you found that basket of fruit, Bastin, which
the natives Uught over in the canoe, wai there a b^ugh
covered with red flowers lying on the top of it ?"
Yes, Arbuthnot, one bough only; I threw it down
^
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140 When the World Shook
on the rock as it got in the way when I was carrying
the basket."
" Which flowering bough we all thought we saw the
Sleeper Oro carry away after Tommy had brought it to
him."
"Yes; he made me pick it up and give it to him,"
said Bastin.
"Well, if we did not see this it should still be lying
on the rock, as there has been no wind and there are
no animals here to carry it away. You will admit that,
Bickley?"
He nodded.
"Then if it has gone you will admit also that the
presumption is that we saw what we thought we did
see?"
"I do not know how that conclusion can be avoided,
at any rate so far as the incident of the bough is con-
cerned," replied Bickley with caution.
Then, without more words, we started to look. At
the spot where the bough should have been, there was
no bough, but on the rock lay several of the red flowers,
bitten off, I suppose, by Tommy while he was carrying
it. Nor was this all. I think I have mentioned that the
Glittering Lady wore sandals which were fastened with
red studs that looked like rubies or carbuncles. On the
rock lay one of these studs. I picked it up and we
examined it. It had been sewn to the sandal-strap with
golden thread or silk. Some of this substance hung
from the hole drilled in the stone which served for an
eye. It was as rotten as tinder, apparently with extreme
age. Moreover, the hard gem itself was pitted as though
the passage of time had taken effect upon it, though
this may have been caused by other agencies, such as
the action of the radium rays. I smiled at Bickley who
looked disconcerted and even sad. In a way it is pain-
ful to see the effect upon an able and earnest man of the
upsetting of his lifelong theories.
We went for our walk, keeping to the flat lands at
the foot of the volcano cone, for we seemed to have had
enough of wonders and to desire to reassure ourselves.
250,000 Years!
141
As'itTt?.;.^^ ^^*' ^'""^y °^ ""'""' «"d ^^•"•"ar things.
AS It chanced, too, we were rewarded by sundry uselul
tree and other fruits, most of them now ripe, grew in
abundance as did the yam. Also, we came^ti InTnlet
that we noticed was crowded with large and beautiful
fish from the lake, which seemed to find it a favour "e
spot. Perhaps this was because a little stream of exaU
lent water ran in here, overflowing from the^reat pool
or mere which filled the crater above. ^ ^
At these finds we rejoiced greatly, for now we knew
2 l^H T'^ "1^ fear starvation even should our supply
of food from the main island be cut off. Indeed, by
help of some palm-leaf stalks which we wove together
S ^ ^^";?' ^^° ^^^ '^'^'' <^'«^«' ^ this kS of
thing managed to trap four fish weighing two or three
pounds apiece, wading into the wate? to do so It wis
curious to observe with what ease he adapted himself to
Jde^'"tW b!!!,'"''""" of primeval maS. so ZTso,
indeed, that Bickley remarked that if he could believe in
re-incarnation, he would be absolutely certain ThLt
Bastin was a troglodyte in his last sojourn on the earth
However this might be, Bastin 's primeval instincts
and abilities were of the utmost service to us. Before we
had been many days on that island he had built us a
kind of native hut or house roofed with palm leave" in
Avhich, until provided with a better, as happened afte"
7.t' ""If *' "'^ ^V""^ ^'^^^'y «'«Pt' "saving the tent
K- k\ Moreover, he wove a net of palm fibre with
Hn^fnf '.^"^''' abundance of fish, and made fishTng-
h^t ^ K^^ulfT ."material (fortunately we had some
Sl!.f"i?^ ^n""*^ ^'"^ freshwater mussels and the
msides of fish. By means of these he secured some
Ixce£ ^JlT'u- *'' '^^^ '^'''' ^''^t P™-"J ^^st
Her«v whf K 1 "'^ «^'^'^^ triumph, however, was a
f^^^ 7^'"^ u^ constructed of boughs, wherein he
S^^Ih IZ^^'f °^ waterfowl. So thft s^wn we kept a
very good table of a sort, especially after he had learned
horiton^^ our food upon the native plan by means ^
hot stones. This suited us admirably, as it enabled
^
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142 When the World Shook
Bickley and myself to devote all our time to archaeo-
logical and other studies which did not greatly interest
Bastin.
By the time that we got back to camp it was drawing
towards evening, so we cooked our food and ate, and
then, thoroughly exhausted, made ourselves as comfort-
able as we could and went to sleep. Even our marvel-
lous experiences could not keep Bickley and myself from
sleeping, and on Bastin such things had no effect. He
accepted them and that was all, much more readily than
we did, indeed. Triple-armed as he was in the mail of a
child-like faith, he snapped his fingers at evil spirits
which he supposed the Sleepers to be, and at everything
else that other men might dread.
Now, as I have mentioned, after our talk with
Marama, although we did not think it wise to adventure
ourselves among them again at present, we had lost all
fear of the Orofenans. In this attitude, so far as Marama
himself and the majority of his people were concerned,
we were quite justified, for they were our warm friends.
But in the case of the sorcerers, the priests and all their
rascally and superstitious brotherhood, we were by no
means justified. They had not forgiven Bastin his
sacrilege or for his undermining of tneir authority by
the preaching of new doctrines which, if adopted, would
destroy them as a hierarchy. Nor had they forgiven
Bickley for shooting one of their number, or anv of us
for our escape from the vengeance of their god.'
So it came about that they made a plot to seize us all
and hale us off to be sacrificed to a substituted image of
Oro, which by now they had set up. They knew exactly
where we slept upon the rock ; indeed, our fire showed
it to them and so far they were not afraid to vcture,
since here they had been accustomed for generat :).is to
lay their offerings to the god of the Mountain. Secretly
on the previous night, without the knowledge of
Marama, they had carried two more canoes to the
borders of the lake. Now on this night, just as the moon
was setting about three in the morning, they made their
attack, twenty-one men in all, for the three canoes were
250,000 Years !
143
large, relying on the following darkness to get us away
and convey us to the place orsacrifice to bf offered ud
at dawn and before Marama could interfere ^
Ihe first we knew of the matter, for most foolishlv
we had neglected to keep a watch, was the unTS
u^TZioIlTI ««^^&««''"ff""g on ufand Trussing
us up with palm-libre ropes. Also they thrust handfuls
out TltEh"*" ^"' """''if *° P'^^^"' "« from call in|
^«cc „ ^?? ^* air came through the interstices of thf
grass, we did not suffocate. The thing was so well done
we 'h«rf T'' '''''f " ''i°^ '" self-defe^nce, a^d ahhough
shot O?/ P'"°'^ "' ''*"^! '""^'^ '«=«« <:o"ld we fire^a
shot. Of course, we struggled as well as we were able
but ,t was quite useless; in three minutes wlwere as
helpless as calves in a net and like calves were beini
conveyed to the butcher. Bastin managed T get hf
gag out of his mouth for a few seconds, and f heard
him say in his slow, heavy voice :
PvilTI^'^; Bickley, is what comes of trafficking with
evil spirits in museum cases " There his soeerh
stopped for the grass wad was jammed down his?hrS
snort 'ihp'*"*'"'-'^' t"^'** '^^ inarticulate Bickley
u«er A« ?« ^^on-^e/y^d the repartee he was unable to
Tr-:.rh^t '"^•f "• ^- '*^'="^'' ^^^^ ^^^ business served
iSuefo fate' " "'"^ * *^''''' ^"'^ abandoned the
to Jl'lhJn ?'*"J*^L*'lf ''"*^' ^ ^^^ infinitely more sorry
Tht i,«H„ I'^x •'^ ^^"^ ''""" forty-eight hours earlier^
we cofilH onL '" """^t^^ys a dreadful world, one, if
wLlH LI ^^A f"!™"" ^''^ courage, that some of us
would be glad to leave in search of new adventures
But here a great and unprecedented adventure hid
begun to befall me, and before its mystery was solved
before even I could formulate a theory con^ernbliT
wJ« rolL"ir ^ ^es^^oved, and my intelligence tha
was caged therein, sent far afield; or, if Bickley were
ZJbir'.'T^- '' "^"^"^ ^° ^<» i"«t when the im!
S^r tie ^Vfl.r^'J'^r'^ wandering moon, had risen
chf Ju^ "^*'' °^ ^^^ ascertained and made them
shine with hope and wonder.
";1
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144 When the World Shook
Jlify carried us off to the canoes, not too gently; in-
deed, I heard the bony frame of Bastin bump into the
bottom of one of them and reflected, not without venom,
that It served him right as he was the fount and origin
of our woes. Two stmking magicians, wearing on their
heads undress editions of their court cages, since these
were too cumbersome for active work of the sort, and
painted all over with various pigments, were just about
to swing me after him into the same, or another canoe,
when something happened. I did not know what it
was, but as a result, my captors left hold of me so that
I fell to the rock, lying upon my back.
Then, within my line of vision, which, it must be
remembered, was limited because I could not lift my
head, appeared the upper part of the tall person of the
Ancient who said that he was named Oro. I could only
see him down to his middle, but I noted vaguely that
he seemed to be much changed. For instance, he wore
a different coloured dress, or rather robe; this time it
was dark blue, which caused me to wonder where on
earth it came from. Also, his tremendous beard had
been trimmed and dressed, and on his head there was a
simple black cap, strangely quilted, which looked as
though It were made of velvet. Moreover, his face had
plumped out. He still looked ancient, it is true, and
unutterably wise, but now he resembled an antique
youth, so great were his energy and vigour. Also, his
dark and glowing eyes shone with a fearful intensity.
In short, he seemed impressive and terrible almost
beyond imagining.
He looked about him slowly, then asked in a deep,
cold voice, speaking in the Orofenan tongue :
"What do you, slaves?"
No one seemed able to answer, they were too horror-
stricken at this sudden vision of their fabled god, whose
fierce features of wood had become flesh; they only
turned to fly. He waved his thin hand and they came
to a standstill, like animals which have reached the end
of their tether and are checked by the chains that bind
them. There they stood in all sorts of postures, im-
250,000 Years!
145
The Sleeper spoke again :
slowly choked and-dJed " ""^ *^* "P-
paralysed The'v r.,U?M?L .r^* °^. ^^^"^ "^^^ ^ood
fought furiously ThTseirS'^nH*'? ^'^^P ^^ ^"'^
'^I'tt^ed^'ifai-F^^^^
a matteTof fa?t w hfn fi"vf ±^' "V* I think that as
f»
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146 When the World Shook
" Lift that man from the boat," he said, pointing to
Bastin, "cut his bonds and those of the others."
They obeyed with a wonderful alacrity. In a minute
we stood at liberty and were pulling the grass gags from
our mouths. The Ancient pointed to the head magician
who lay dead upon the rock, his hideous, contorted
countenance staring open-eyed at heaven.
"Take that sorcerer and show him to the other
sorcerers yonder," he said, "and tell them where your
fellows are if they would find them. Know by these
signs that the Oro, god of the MounUin, who has slept
awhile, is awake, and ill will it go with them who ques-
tion his power or dare to try to harm those who dwell
in his house. Bring food day by day and await com-
mands. Begone 1 "
The dreadful-looking body was bundled into one of
the canoes, that out of which Bastin had emerged. A
rower sprang into each of them and presently was
paddling as ne had never done before. As the setting
moon vanished, they vanished with it, and once more
there was a great silence.
"I am going to find my boots," saif' Bastin. "This
rock is hard and I hurt my feet kick- - at those poor
fellows who appear to have come to ; oad end, how, I
do not exactly understand. Personally, I think that
more allowances should have been made for them, as I
hope will be the case elsewhere, since after all they only
acted according to their lights."
"Curse their lights I" ejaculated Bickley, feeling
his throat which was bruised. "I'm elad thev are
out." ^ '
Basti. limped away in search of his boots, but
Bickley and I stood where we were contemplating the
awakened Sleeper. All recollection of the recent tumul-
tuous scene seemed to have passed from his mind, for
he was engaged in a study of the heavens. They were
wonderfully brilliant now that the moon was down,
brilliant as they only can be in the tropics when the sky
is clear.
Something caused me to look round, and there,
250,000 Years ! 147
Yva. Evidently all her weakness had departed also
Cnt *^ '''"f "'°'J°" '''^' reminded me of a swan
floatmg forward on the water. Well had we named her
the Glittermg Lady, for in the starlight literallT she
golden raiment, which, however, I noticed, as in her
father s case, was not the same that she had worn in the
coffin ; also from her harr that seemed to give out a lieht
tL LT""- "^^ •''"''• '*"' shimmered as%he came, her
^L Th/T^'"''^ *' ''^r? ^'«P '"'^ * «i"o^v in the
wind. She drew near, and 1 saw that her face, too, had
filled put and now was that of one in perfect health
to'ndXTaVg:'"^ '" *'^" ^'""•^ «>'^'y -'l --ed
whilh i'^h,!]""*^^ 1^^ ^'""^ *^°^ ^*° plates of metal
which I had seen lying in the coffin of the Sleeper Oro
These she gave to him, then fell back out of his hearing
-If It were ever possible to do this, a point on which !
fi?l. • ^u'T~^1^ '^S*" *° talk to me. I noted at once
that in the few hours during which she was absent, her
fmnrS" °\^^' ^u'"^*"^" *°"^« S«""«d to have
rS K^/^^f >' "^ i''°"S*^ «^« ^^'^ 'l^""k deeply from
sonie hidden fount of memory. Now she spoke it with
readiness, as Oro had done when he addreL^d the
sorcerers, although many of the wonds she used were
not known to me, and the general form of her language
appeared archaic, as for instance that of Spenrer is
compared with modern English. When she saw I did
not comprehend her, however, she would stop and cast
her sentences ma diflferent shape, till at length I caught
^er^meaning. Now I give the substance of what fhe
"You are safe," she began, glancing first at the
palm ropes that lay upon the rock and then at my wrists,
one of which was cut.
"Yes, Lady Yva, thanks to your father."
♦t,- 1 • °" r r' ^y ^^^^^^ *« ™«- My father was
thinking of other things, but T was thinking of you
i
1 j:
X48 When the World Shook
•tnngers, and from where I was I saw those wicked
ones coming to liill you."
"Oh I from the top of the mounuin, I suppose."
She shoolc her head and smiled but vouchsafed no
further explanation, unless her following words can be
so called. These were :
"I can see otherwise than with my eyes, if I choose."
A statement that caused Bickley, who was listenine. to
mutter : ^
"Impossible! What the deuce can she mean?
Telepathy, perha.js."
"I saw,'' she continued, "and told the Lord, my
father. He came forth. Did he kill them ? I did not
look to learn."
"Yes. They lie in the lake, all except three whom
hw sent away as messengers."
"I thought so. Death is terrible, O Humphrey, but
Jt IS a sword which those who rule must use to smite
the wicked and the savage."
Not wishing to pursue this subject, I a-ked her what
her father was doing with the metal platt ,
"He reads the stars," she answered, "to learn how
long we have been asleep. Before we we it to sleep
he made two pictures of them, as they were then
and as they should be at the time he had set for our
awakening.^'
"We set that time," interrupted Bickley.
.IT "^°* ^' ^ Bickley," she answered, smiling again.
In the divme Oro's head was the time sjt. You were
the hand that executed his decree."
When Bickley heard this I really thought he wouW
have burst. However, he controlled himself nobly,
bemg anxious to hear the end of this mysterious fib.
"How long was the time that the lord Oro set apart
for sleep ? " I asked.
She paused as though puzzled to find words to ex-
press her meaning, then held up her hands and said :
"Ten," nodding at her fingers. By second thoughts
she took Bickley's hands, not mine, and counted his
ten fingers.
'J
ORO'S CHART OF THB STAIIS MADB BY HIM ABOUT
2SI).0m YBARS AGO
Hi; ;:
KBV CHART TO THB ABOVB
^•'^■^ 52*""" THE STAHS AS HB CALCULATBD THAT
THEY WOULD APPEAR AT HIS AI^KBWNO
»EY CHART TO THE ABOVE
mm
HE.
' i ■ ''*/■
i II
250.000 Years !
149
"Ten years," said Bicklev "ur-n ,
■mpossible, but perhaDS--5^"«n^^''"' °^ «>"««. it is
"Ten fpn= •' ,k *^^ and he paused.
"one huncSred!" '''' "'""' °" ^'''^ « deeding smile,
"t'^ ' i! ^'^ B'cljley.
rf^^yi^-i^Bi^j^fer-"^-"
thouS^rhu^"d^tdlnte"fh^"*' "i^'^ ^ ^^-^-d
was the space of time which th7.«^-?"^"'' y^'^' ^'"''
for our sleep. WhetK it JL k' *^'?' .!?y ^^'^er, set
know presently when h^hic^j^'f" ^"'fi"ed he will
and made comJaT^" ofifwith^l,'''', ^^ °^ '^e stars
laid us down to reT"and IhJ ^^V''' *™t« before we
which the AnSem U^'lil^i IJ'"'«<1 '° ^^e metal plates
St^Vtot^m'::'^ rr^ »°""^« -« though he
were
d)gnationt1,atIneariyZgS'"^Y:?r1'r'-^ '" ^'^ '"-
dui laugh, and very LsiS was iat fauth ^" """^"^
He does not believe," she said "if •
iie knows everything B it m,?, u^ J^^ '^ ^ clever
sand years ago wf should hn.t^^ ^
^"Pid. ThenleTulfreadthe^^,?^^^^^^^ T''
movements for ever." " calculate their
-show mTfaS .?in^T;Sn7;fthrm^r •"'" «" ^'^'^ '«
Secretly I hooed thZ ?v.- ? . ^"^ ''^ '* wrong."
me. Indeed lTouA'!uT^ T"''' ^ >>« '«'<! «"
the edification of sfckley wl „ h-f^"^^ '^^ '"''J*''^' 'o"-
drawn back by his eagi curioskv''T""\^"'' ^^«
Bastin joined us. hannt, in h?. ^' .J"^' *''en, too,
"You tell us iffJv T/egained boots,
or should have slept for tlo'h ^'^^' "^''^t y*>" «'«?».
ye^rs." Here*BSL'oS'rst^^"^.f/!C°"-"<J
where was your mind all this time ?" ^' ""^^ ^'
havetoaLwe^'rrt'itTe^nT^HP'"'' 5^ ""-"Phrey. I
^ mat at present I do not know for certein.
'J
,1
■
Z50 When the World Shook
I think, however, that it dwelt elsewhere, perhaps in
other bodies on the earth, or some different earth. At
least, I know that my heart is very full of memories
which as yet I cannot unroll and read."
" Great heavens, this is madness I " said Bickley.
"In the great heavenr," she answered slowly, "there
are many things which you, poor man, would think to
be madness, but yet are truth and perfect wisdom.
These things, or some of them, soon I shall hope to
show you."
"Do if you can," said Bickley.
"Why not?" interrupted Bastin. "I think the lady's
remarks quite reasonable. It seems to me highly im-
probable if really she has slept for two hundred and fifty
thousand years, which, of course, I can't decide, that an
immortal spirit would be allowed to remain idle for so
long. That would be wallowing in a bed of idleness
and shirking its duty which is to do its work. Also, as
she tells you, Bickley, you are not half so clever as you
think you are in your silly scepticism, and I have no
doubt that there are many things in other worlds which
would expose your ignorance, if only you could see
them."
At this moment Oro turned and called his daughter.
She went at once, saying :
"Come, strangers, and you shall learn."
So we followed her.
"Daughter," *■<.■ said, speaking in Orofenan, I think
that we might understand, "ask these strangers to bring
one of those lamps of theirs that by the light of it I may
study these writings."
"Perhaps this may serve," said Bickley, suddenly
producing an electric torch from his pocket and flashing
it into his face. It was his form of repartee for all he
had suffered at the hands of this incomprehensible pair.
Let me say at once that it was singularly successful.
Perhaps the wisdom of the ages in which Oro flourished
had overlooked so small a matter as electric torches, or
perhaps he did not expect to meet with them in these
degenerate days. At any rate for the first and last time
250,000 Yearsj 151
in my intercourse with him I saw the god, or lord— the
native word bears either meaning-Oro genuinely
astonished. He started and stepped back, a^nd for ii
moment or two seemed a little frightened. Then mut-
tering something as to the cleverness of this licht-
producing instrument, he motioned to his daughter to
take It from Bickley and hold it in a certain ^sition.
She obeyed, and in its illumination he began to study
the engraved plates, holding one of them in either hand.
o„^ %k\*^1.'-^ ^^ ^^""^ ""^ °"« o^ 'he plates to hold,
thl ™»n1'^'^^'J^A«^?'^ ^^""^ P"'"'*'^ successively to
AW.h p'°''.°^*^'A^"' ^° ^^^ s'"s Castor. PoHux,
A debaran, R.gel. the Pleiades, Sirius and others which
J^^tZ^ xi;^ '"""l*^ knowledge I could not recognise
offhand. Then on the plate which I held, he showld us
byTne^*"* ^^" *"'^ constellations, checking them one
.n7u^''J'^ remarked very quietly that all was in order,
and handing the plate he held to Yva, said :
1 he calculations made so long ago are correct, nor
have the stars varied ir their proper motions durhig
what IS after all but an hour of time. If you. Stranger
who I understand, are named Humphreyf should beTas
LC*i ' t.*ie«ven-">aster, naturally you will ask me
.?Z ri"^ ^"^ ^" f'^*^' *^^^^ ^y the stars without an
error of, let us say, from five to ten thousand ears. I
ft"^f i/k" *^tL''^i^l P'°P" """t'o" of the st.rs alone
n^^il^'T ^" ''l^*^^'^-. Therefore I remember that
in order to be exact, I calculated the future conjunctions
rL^f.r ^jrS.P'^"^'^'" ^"d he pointed to Saturn and
Jupiter. Finding that one of these occurred near
yonder star," and he indicated the bright orb, Spica,
ntl^M P^J^k'""*' ^ determined that then I would awake.
Behold I There are the stars as I engraved them from
my foreknowledge, upon this chart, and there those two
great planets hang in conjunction. Daughter Yva. mv
t'!^^J?iT/^' not failed me. This world of ours has
h^A A '°!/«1 ^''l^"" ""'^^^^ '"« "Of '"O'e than two
hundred and fifty thousand times since we laid ourselves
down to sleep. It is written here, and yonder," and he
f<
:•;- 111
:'6
152 When the World Shook
pointed, first to the engraved plates and then to the vast
expanse of the starlit heavens.
Awe fell on me ; I think that even Bicklev and Bastin
were awed, at any rate for the moment. It was a ter-
rible thing to look on a being, to all appearance more
or less human, who alleged that he had been asleep for
two hundred and fifty thousand years, and proceeded
to prove it by certain ancient star charts. Of course at
the time I could not check those charts, lacking the
necessary knowledge, but I have done so since and
found that they are quite accurate. However this made
no difference, since the circumstances and something in
his manner convinced me that he spoke the absolute
truth.
He and his daughter had been asleep for two
hundred and fifty thousand years. Oh ! Heavens,
for two hundred and fifty thousand years!
II
CHAPTER XIII
0»0 SPEAKS AND BMTW mouUS
that^I^t down what I Jw, heard and fe^t'nS'nforJ
wherp wp wpr» 4» """6'""> waving to us to remain
wiiere we were. As she passed us, however fhn ni;tf»,
of jrour rehgion and other matters."
«3
i
154 When the World Shook
Bastin was so astonished that he could make no
reply, but when they had gone he said :
" Which of you told her that I was a priest?"
We shook our heads for neither of us could remember
havine done so.
"Well, I did not," continued Bastin, "since at
present I have found no opportunity of saying a word
in season. So I suppose she must have gathered it
from my attire, though as a matter of fact I haven't been
wearing a collar, and those men who wanted to cook
me, pulled off my white tie and I didn't think it worth
while dirtying a clean one."
"If," said Bickley, "you imagine that you look like
the minister of any religion ancient or modern in a
grubby flannel shirt, a battered sun-helmet, a torn green
and white uml rella and a pair of ragged duck trousers,
you are mistaken, Bastin, that is all."
" I admit that the costume is not appropriate, Bickley,
but how otherwise could she have learned the truth?"
" These people seem to have ways of learning a good
many things. But in your case, Bastin, the cause is
clear enough. You have been walking about with the
head of that idol and always keep it close to you. No
doubt they believe that you are a priest of the worship
of the god of the Grove — Baal, you know, or something
of that sort."
When he heard this Bastin's face became a perfect
picture. Never before did I see it so full of horror
strugGfling with indignation.
" I must undeceive them without a moment's delay,"
he said, and was starting for the cave when we caught
his arms and held him.
"I:3tter wait till they come back, old fellow," I said
laughing. " If you disobey that Lord Oro you mav
meet with another experience in the sacrificial line."
"Perhaps you are right, Arbuthnot. I will occupy
the interval in preparing a suitable address."
" Much better occupy it in preparingr breakfast," said
Bickley. " I have always noticed that you are at your
best extempore."
no
Oro Speaks and Bastin Argues 155
make tea in the frv^;„ i "t '"'" beginning to
opportunhy had arr S^ff • l"**-" ^»'' '^a,^ his
to the occ^ion. ' " ""''""& '«««'y »« "se
shabbHrki?g'objljf;in°d ."h' ''S' ^-^ *"« "'-'"^'y
each did his fe«^{o i,;*"i* '^?H&h none of us said so.
First of all BiSy cut BasTn% JnV^^u"'^' appearance'.
normally clean IhTven «t t« I^V ^''^'^''^^ ^^° *"
of about^a weekWo^?^ '^hT'^'" '^'"°^« * ^ard
pointed vari>rvtrimm^ ;,„''• ^ "^^^"'^ one of the
the help of" handSs L^IH'^^ ^'V ^^^'^ ^«''
which was of the sauare n„^ tl'^K' '°°' P^^^rmed on his
rejecting B^cklev's^ advice Jh" '"?^«i'ype. wisely
fi«™r .1, ' noldmg in his hands, which oroiecteH
trscoureeTn7tir'""P'''"^^' ']'' ^'"^^^"'^ of th'ec'roS^
efst^n^ for hi= ** J"* ""''"''' °'' Sipn of Life. '
ro^tnml Kt . '^ P^"*' *''™y*d himself in full clerical
cTerrm^n^^.J,,';^ ^"l.'™"?"-^' ^'^'''^ ^''^ «"d stict^p
extrS ho?S ^^^"'^••^' •"^ ^marked, made him feel
dorSicd,,H« /'V*' *='™*t5' *"«^ ^«'« unsuitable to
aomestic duties, such as washing-up. I offered to hold
1 •
i
156 When the World Shook
his coat while he did this office and told him he looked
very nice indeed.
^'Beautiful I " remarked Bickley, "but why don't you
put on your surplice and biretta? " (Being very Hi^h-
Church Bastin did wear a biretta on festival Sundays at
home.) "There would be no mistake about you then."
" I do not think it would be suitable," replied Bastin
whose sense of humour was undeveloped. "There is no
service to be performed at present and no church, though
perhaps that cave " and he stopped.
When we had finished these vain adornments and
Bastin had put away the things and tidied up, we sat
down, rather at a loose end. We should have liked to
walk but refrained from doing so for fear lest we might
dirty our clean clothes. So we just sat and thought. At
least Bickley thought, and so did I for a while until I
gave it up. What was the use of thinking, seeing that
we were face to face with circumstances which baffled
reason and beggared all recorded human experience?
What Bastin did I am sure I do not know, but I think
from the expression of his countenance that he was
engaged in composing sermons for the benefit of Oro
and the Glittering Lady.
One diversion we did have. About eleven o clock a
canoe came from the main island laden with provisions
and paddled by Marama and two of his people. We
seized our weapons, remembering our experiences of the
night, but Marama waved a bough in token of peace.
So, carrying our revolvers, we went to the rock edge to
meet him. He crept ashore and, chief though he was,
prostrated himself upon his face before us, which told
me that he had heard of the fate of the sorcerers. His
apologies were abject. He explained that he had no
part in the outrage of the attack, and besoupht us to
intercede on behalf of him and his people with the
awakened god of the Mountain whom he looked for with
a terrified air, . ,j . .
We consoled him as well as we could, and told him
that he had best be gone before the god of the Mountain
appeared, and perhaps treated him as he had done the
Oro Speaks and Bastin Argues 157
m1™^?',«J" ^'^ ""?"f' however, we commanded
u^^.JU"^ ""'"J*'' ""'^ ^""d « ■ proper house
upon the rock, ;.iSo to be sure to keep up a rceular and
ample supply of provisions. If he'^did 'he^ th'nps
nnd anythmg else we mi^ht from time To time^mmand'
would be spared. This, however, after the evil be.
JSaTtee^' """' °' ^'*'" °' *=""'- -^ -"l^' noi
even'fo^^o^ t^Tt'^ ^ thoroiijrhly frightened that he
nf ,h- iJF 'o.^ake anv inquiries as to who this eod
whh.rh ""'"'" '"■'^*" °^',°^ ^^'^"« »"> came fromf or
*^'*H *«'?.g«'n&- Of course, the place had been
sacred among his people from the beginning, whenever
that may have been, but that its sacredness should
materiahse into an active god who brought^^cerers of
the highest reputation to a most unplelsant end iust
S™;',*!^ '^'y *''!!'='' '« '™"^'«'« their ^aching mo
practice, was another matter. It was not To be explained
even by the fact of which he himself had informed me
the cave mouth which previously was not visible on the
o? tC'Ro^f ^"^^A"«-'-"*'"'^" "^"l "P «bove the Vve?
of the Rock of Offerings, although, of course all
Tote' ^""^ 'T''"'^^ f^^^"« ^^'«"'d havT^exScted
somethme peculiar to happen after this event.
h^ w« M f •^r"'.,'""''^''^"^'''''' ''"»• « I have said,
he was too frightened and too hurried to express then
dIffirTI:?"' "'"' ^^''?"'^ ''^^« ^°""d it'^exfremir;
difficult to answer. As It was he depart^ quite uncer
Uiin as to whether one of us was not the red "god o
unnn hT*'"?' >''° ^^^ P°^^' '° ''""R hideous death
^ff°l molesters. After all. what had he to go on o
haH h^r.« i^^^ A^l^ ^""^ "° '=o''«^e"' account of what
had happened ? Of these events, it was true, there was
Zl^re7LV^f 'l^'"^'^ ^"^^"^ °^ '^'" 'a'^enJed hTgh
Eh K k'':,^*"' ^''^ I"^"*"" °^ 'hat. of certain corp«s
which he had seen, that lay in shallow water at ^e
bottom of the lake. Beyond all was vague, and in his
1
1
3
a
X58 When the World Shook
heart I am sure that Marama believed that Bastin was
the real "god of the Mountain." Naturally, he would
desire to work vengeance on those who tried to sacrifice
and eat him. Moreover, had he not destroyed the imapf
of the eod of the Grove and borne away its head whence
he had sucked maeic and power?
Thus argued Marama, disbelieving the tale of the
frightened sorcerers, for he admitted as much to me
in after days.
Marama departed in a great hurry, fearing lest the
"god of the Mountain," or Bastin, whose new and
spl did garb he regarded with much suspicion, might
de lop some evil energy against him. Then we went
bacK to our camp, leaving the industrious Bastin,
animated by a suggestion from Bickley that the fruit and
food might spoil if left in the sun, to carry it into the
shade of the cave. Owing to the terrors of the
Orofenans the supply was so large that to do this he
must make no fewer than seven journeys, which he did
with great good will since Bastin loved physical exercise.
The result on his clerical garments, however, was
disastrous. His white tie went awry, squashed fruit and
roast pig gravy ran down his waistcoat and trousers, and
his high collar melted into limp crinkles in the mois-
ture engendered by the tropical heat. Only his long
coat escaped, since that Bickley kindly carried for
him.
It was just as he arrived with the seventh load in
this extremely dishevelled condition that Oro and his
daughter emerged from the cave. Indeed Bastin, who,
being shortsighted, always wore spectacles that owing
to his heated state were covered with mist, not seeing
that dignitary, dumped down the last basket on to his
toes, exclaiming ;
"There, you lazy beggar, I told you I would bring
it all, and I have."
In fact he thought he was addressing Bickley and
playing off on him a troglodytic practical joke.
Oro, however, who at his age did not appreciate
jokes, resented it and was about to do something
Oro Speaks and Bastin Argues 159
SSl *"" *"" "'"Ordinary uct hi. daughter
O U?"m"y Sth^er? •"'"- ^°" "'^"""f"" Th-nk him.
he ft?ll°hTH"j°"r*^ him, not too cordially for evidently
eLnii n.l"''"^ '" '''" "^'' ""d onci more Bastin
"If ^ L ^' '';-'"''^' ••^"•^^•yinp I'is dishevelled form
Then Bastin retired fo >trai'Thicn hia ti* »^a „. u
a'"m^ai&r;j;rf^''"^^ -^"^^ '""^^'^ it'Vht^^t'h
a malicious smile, fo;cRn his pcrsp r ng arms into it in
''MeiS^:.rR\r ^'^'^ ^'-^PhamineUTon ° " '"
„t,:^ ^"! ^'^^^^^ '""'^ ^ produced two camp chaira
which we had made readv, and on these the wSndro "
pair seated themselves side by side. sonorous
" JKt if "S ^r"..*? '""•" «'^ O™- " Tear h • .
.i«»K-ii 1^' '^"ther," interrupted Yva, who, I n • v.! w-^
clothed in yet a third costume, thoigh ^h.;,,. />.;:.
^uTstion ""wl, "°' ''""^'"*- "P'"t I »'^"!<1 '^' V
yoShere?" * ""^ ''°"' Strangers, and !,c- •- <,.,.-
"We are from the country called Enrland anvl i
g«at storm »hipwreclced us hTre, that, I t^h^nlc, whch
?^' r'answS.^' *'' "'' "'°^* *"' ^*^«' °^ '•''^
h.. «IIIm .V''"*',?PP°'"'ed having come when it should
™wk' '^'iOro as though to himself.
Where is England ? " asked Yva.
Now among the books we had with us was a pocket
atlas, quite a good one of its sort. By way of awww
En°S "a!* the map of the world Ld Kwe3 he
« ^ hof .„ ,^ ^ ^^°^'^^ ^ ''''•''" * thousand miles or
together °" " * '"'^**=' ^^''^^ ^ ^^*
The sight of this atlas excited the pair greatly. Thev
had not the slightest difficulty in understlnding eveiy-
'• iL ''-.
x6o When the World Shook
thing about it and the shape of the world with its
division into hemispheres seemed to be quite familiar
to them. What appeared chiefly to interest them, and
especially Oro, were the relative areas and positions of
land and sea.
"Of this, Strangers," he said, pointing to the map,
"I shall have much to say to you when fhave studied
the pictures of your book and compared them with
others of my own."
"So he has got maps," said Bickley in English,
"as well as star charts. I wonder where he keeps
them."
"With his clothes, I expect," suggested Bastin.
Meanwhile Oro had hidden the atlas in his ample
robe and motioned to his daughter to proceed.
"Why do you come here from England so far
away?" the Lady Yva asked, a question to which each
of us had an answer.
"To see new countries," I said.
" Because the cyclone b'ought us," said Bickley.
"To convert tlie he; :' en to my own Christian
religion," said Bastin, which was not strictly true.
It was on this last reply that she fixed.
"What does your religior teach?" she asked.
"It teaches that those who accept it and obey its
commands will live again after death for ever in a better
world where is neither sorrow nor sin," he answered.
When he heard this saying I saw Oro start as though
struck by a new thought and look at Bastin with a
curious intentness.
"Who are the heathen?" Yva asked again after a
pause, for she also seemed to be impressed.
"All who do not agree with Bastin 's spiritual views,"
answered Bickley.
"Those who, whether from lack of instruction or
from hardness of heart, do not follow the true faith. For
instance I suppose that your father and you are
heathen," replied Bastin stoutly.
This seemed to astonish them, but presently Yva
caught his meaning and smiled, while Oro said :
Oro Speaks and Bastin Argues i6i
i« uiPJtJi^*^ ^^^ •"*"*"■ °^ ^"'^^ we will talk later. It
^ *",?/■'* question in the world."
f»r ^jY ^^'" *^'" 9" ^^^' "'^ yo" wished to travel so
WhJ Hi^°" """* '"^ * "*"P '•«" ^ e«s»y « wrecked^
sSM£ ^tZul J°"'"'^, '^'^"^'^ ^"^ «''. o' better
suii, pass through space, leaving your bodies asleen
as, being instructed, doubtless you can do." ^'
"tl,»r»^ regards your first question," I answered
a tourne;?""*' '"" ' ''""wn^at caA make Tlong
did"nt"l'^=.'*Sf''^ *•"? ^?"*^'" brake in Bickley, "we
did not do so because it is impossible for men to rans-
or'iS t^eiX'Si^^.^^'^^^ '''''^^' ^P- "=''"""^b
» ^ybis information the Glittering Lady lifted her
arched eyebrows and smiled a little, w^ile Oro saidi
I perceive that the new world has advanced but a
little wa^ on the road of knowledge."
™pn» Tk^ '**^' ^^.''" ^'^s *bout to commence an argu-
ment, I began to ask questions in my turn.
Lord Oro and Lady Yva," I said, "we have told
you someth ng of ourselves and will tell you more wSn
you desire it. But pardon us if first we pray you to
tell us what we burn to know. Who are you ? Of what
Sti^g yoffi''" ^""^ •'^^ "-^^ '^ *''^'- ^-"^ y-
Yva." '* ^ ^°"' pleasure, answer, my Father," said
voice'^° thought a moment, then replied in a calm
^..c":!.^" a king who once ruled most of the world as it
was in my day, fhough it is true that much of it rebelled
against me, my councillors and servants. Therefore I
S!"o^«ll.^ *°ri'' ^^ 'i! ^*' 'ben, save only certain
portions whence life might spread to the new countries
H«!.„K^f '^ T ?*'""S ^°"« this I put myself and my
daughter to sleep for a space of two hundred and fifty
thousand years, that there might be time for fresh
civilisat ons to arise. Now I begin to think that I did
not allot a sufficiency of ages, since I perceive from what
!■ 1
:3
"3
V *
Ida When the World Shook
you tell me, that the learning of the new races is as yet
but small."
Bickley and I looked at each other and were silent.
Mentally we had collapsed. Who could begin to discuss
statements built upon such a foundation ofgigantic and
paralysing falsehoods?
Well, Bastin could for one. With no more surprise
in his voice than if he were talking about last night's
dinner, he said :
"There must be a mistake somewhere, or perhaps I
misunderstand you. It is obvious that you being a
man, could not have destroyed the world. That could
only be done by the Power which made it and you."
I trembled for the results of Bastin's methods of
setting out the truth. To my astonishment, however,
Oro replied:
"You speak wisely, Priest, but the Power you name
may use instruments to accomplish its decrees. I am
such an instrument."
"Quite so," said Bastin, "just like anybody else.
You have more knowledge of the truth than I thought.
But pray, how did you (festroy the world ? "
"Usmg my wisdom to direct the forces that are at
work in the heart of this great globe, I drowned it with
a deluge, causing one part to smk and another to rise,
also changes of climate which completed the work."
"That s quite right," exclaimed Bastin delightedly.
" We know all about the Deluge, only you are not men-
tioned in connection with the matter. A man, Noah,
had to do with it when he was six hundred years old."
"Six hundred?" said Oro. "That is not very old.
I myself had seen more than a thousand years when I
lay down to sleep."
"A thousand!" remarked Bastin, mildly interested.
"That is unusual, though some of these mighty men of
renown we know lived over nine hundred."
Here Bickley snorted and exclaimed :
"Nine hundred moons," he means.
" I did not know Noah," went on Oro. " Perhaps he
lived after my time and caused some other local deluge.
Oro Speaks and Bastin Ar^^es 163
Is there anything else you wish to ask me before I leave
you that I may study this map-writing ? "
drown your world?"-'"- "^'^ *"* ^^^ ^^°*«* '<>
the"por?serv*?' ""'' ''''^'' """ '''^'''^«^ "^ »'«'
"Oh 1 thank you," said Bastin, "that fits in exactly.
It was just the same in Noah's time." c««.iiy.
. "I pray that it is not just the same now," said Oro
rismg. ro-morrow we will return, or if I do not who
have much that I must do, the lady my daughter will
return and speak with you further.'' ^
distanc?^^^"^'^ '"'^ ^^^ '^^^' ^^^ following at a little
I accompanied her as far as the mouth of the cave, as
flt^?""^^' "^^u *[' ^^'^ '™« '1^'' been sitting con-
rJl^f^ yP^- ^^^ *'*'?.*'' ^''^ gorgeous robe,^ quite
careless of Us immemorial age, if it was immemorial and
"formron.^"^"'^^' * P°'"' °" *'>'«='' ' ^'^^ -
rorH^nr^/''^'"i ^i^' "'^^ I "ghtJy understand the
Lord Oro to say that he was a thousand years old ? "
thinky'*"^' """'P'^'^y' ""^ really he is more, or so I
a hii^''*" ^^^ ^°" * thousand years old also?" I asked,
"No, no," she replied, shaking her head, "I am
youn^, quite young, for I do not count my time of
"Certainly you look it," I said. "But what, Lady
Yva, do you mean by young ? " ^
" wu^"**®""^*^ ""y question by another.
.. 1^^* ^1^^ *re your women when they are as I am ? "
JNone of our women were ever quite like you, Ladv
"Aiy,^'; ^y ^'T twenty-five to thirty years of age/'
Wk t u ^^^" counting and now I remember.
vLrt M^'' m''"t'^-,', '"•' *? "'"P ^ *«s twenty-seven
years old. No, I will not deceive you, I was twentv-
frr/lr"^.!!!'* '^r '"°?'?'-" "T^^"- ^/'"^ something
to the effect that she would return, she cfeparted, laugh-
i64 When the World Shook
ing a little in a mischievous way, and, although I did
not observe this till afterwards. Tommy departed with
When I repeated what she had said to Bastin and
Bickley, who were standing at a distance straining their
ears and somewhat aggrieved, the former remarked :
"If she is twenty-seven her father must have married
late in life, though of course it may have been a long
while before he had children."
Then Bickley, who had been suppressing himself all
this while, went off like a bomb.
"Do you tell us, Bastin," he asked, "that you believe
one word of all this ghastly rubbish? I mean as to
that antique charlatan being a thousand years old and
havmg caused the Flood and the rest ? "
" ".you ask me, Bickley, I see no particular reason to
doubt It at present. A person who can go to sleep in a
glass coffin kept warm by a pocketful of radium together
with very accurate maps of the constellations at the time
he wakes up, can, I imagine, do most things."
"Even cause the Deluge," jeered Bickley.
"I don't know about the Deluge, but perhaps he
may have been permitted to cause a deluge. Why not?
Vou can't look at things from far enough off, Bickley.
And if something seems big to you, you conclude that
therefore it is impossible. The same Power which gives
you skill to succeed in an operation, that hitherto was
held impracticable, as I know you have done once or
twice, may have given that old fellow power to cause a
deluge. You should measure the universe and its
possibilities by worlds and not by acres, Bickley."
"And believe, I suppose, that a man can live ;i
thousand years, whereas we know well that he cannot
live more than about a hundred."
"You don't know anything of the sort, Bickley. All
you know is that over the brief period of history witli
which we are acquainted, say ten thousand years at
most, men have only lived to about a hundred. But the
very rocks which you are sj fond of talking about, tell
us that even this planet is millions upon millions of
Oro Speaks and Bastin Argues 165
re huT- ^^° •'"°*« 'hen but that at some time
ana nis daughter may be two survivors?"
Bickley *" '^ "° P'°°^ °^ ""^''^'"e °^ 'l^e sort," said
it. though"'; haTreS°in ^^1' f ^^^ .""Oe^^tand
old E^yp an priests. But personally I have every orLf
UP voi'r nosr'^H ,^°*" '" '^' "^'^^ «' which 7ouTrn
up your nose, and I am very glad that I have been lurkv
the"sSr;° X thTV" ""^''P^"^' confi?ma"i!r;o^
haVKned^^al, "^^ HE r JeaS^Pr' vS^
^.ZT"' ""k '° ^ "^"^^ *°^"J' ^hich in our c?cum!
c Xs mL^?^" ""?: ^^y- N°^ I ■""« changeTy
clothes before I see to the cooking and other thin|s." ^
him ...K .''*"JD''o'° ^^"''*' «^'d Bickley, lookine after
him, that old Bastin is not so stupid arhefeems
ouT In"P?"\°/ "'^* '''^ arguments he advanc«Te
quite logical Moreover I think he is right when he
td'eLope " aS al/lr^ ''""^''.'''^ wroSg end of tEl
leiescope. After all the universe s very bip and who
whTm'^'^h ""7 ''"PP" '^^'''^ Wh^o knows e*en
what may have happened on this little earth during The
shT as Zt'T''' Z^'"'"'' '''' '^^l^"" chanclj to
shift as the Ice Ages show us it has often done? Still
I believe that old Oro to be a Prince of Liars "
"All I u* '■«''"?'"? to be proved," I answered cautiously
All I know IS that he is a wonderfully learned oerso^n
tLTm''^'^^' appearance, and tha' Ss daugh'erTs
the loveliest creature I ever saw " u«ugmer is
briS^aVshTT'l'ovei? ^If'sZ tef ^"^; "^"' "
S'" g^°a"nd' I' ' ''^^ ' el^tc^me-fxti *°t " C
iup'pefis7eldy/-' ^ "'P' ^^^^'" -"' -" - -hen
m
CHAPTER XIV
If
!t"
i
I >: :
1 i' !
THE UNDER-WORLD
That night we slept well and without fear, being quite
certain that after their previous experience the Oro-
fenans would make no further attempts upon us. In-
deed our only anxiety was for Tommy, whom we could
not find when the time came to give him his supper.
Bastin, however, seemed to remember having seen him
following the Glittering Lady into the cave. This, of
course, was possible, as certainly he had taken an
enormous fancy to her and sat himself down as close to
her as he could on every occasion. He even seemed to
like the ancient Oro, and was not afraid to jump up and
plant his dirty paws upon that terrific person's gor-
feous robe. Moreover Oro liked him, for several times
observed him pat the dog upon the head ; as I think I
have said, the only human touch that I had perceived
about him. So we gave up searching and calling in
the hope that he was safe with our supernatural friends.
The next morning quite early the Lady Yva ap-
peared alone ; no, not alone, for with her came our lost
Tommy looking extremely spry and well at ease. The
faithless little wretch just greeted us in a casual fashion
and then went and sat by Yva. In fact when the awk-
ward Bastin managed to stumble over the end of her
dress Tommy growled at him and showed his teeth.
Moreover the dog was changed. He was blessed with
a shiny black coat, but now this coat sparkled in the
sunlieht, like the Lady Yva's hair.
"The Glittering Lady is all very well, but I'm not
sure that I care for a glittering dog. It doesn't look
quite natural," said Bastin, contemplatine: him.
"Why docs Tommy shine, Ladv?" I asked.
i66
The Under-world 167
"Because I washed him in certain waters that we
have, so that now he looks beautiful and smells sweet "
she answered, laughing. '
It was true, the dog did smell sweet, which I may
add had not always been the case with him, especially
when there were dead fish about. AUo he appeared to
have been fed, for he turned up his nose at the bits we
had saved for his breakfast.
.. j*^*,!"*^ drunk of the Life-water," explained Yva,
and will want no food for two days."
I i?!?"^'*^ pricked up his ears at this statement and
looked mcredulous.
"You do not believe, O Bickley," she said studying
him gravely. "Indeed, you believe nothing. You
think my father and I tell you many lies. Bastin there,
he believes all, Humphrey ? He is not .sure ; he thinks
to himself, I will wait and find out whether or no these
funny people cheat me."
Bickley coloured and made some remark about
Wiings which were contrary to experience, also that
lommy in a general way was rather a greedy little dojr.
You, too, like to eat, Bickley" (this was true, fie
had an excellent appetite), "but when you have drunk
the Life-water you will care much less.""
"I am glad to hear it," interrupted Bastin, "for
Bickley wants a lot of cooking done, and I find it
tedious.
]| You eat also, Lady," said Bickley.
Yes, I eat sometimes because I like it, but I can
go weeks and not eat, when I have the Life-water
Just now, after so long a sleep. I am hunjrry. Pleas^
give me some of that fruit. No, not the ffesh, flesh I
nate .
We handed it to her. She took two plantains, peeled
and ate them with extraordinary grace. Indeed she
reminded me, I do not know why, of some lovely butter-
fly drawing its food from a flower.
While she ate she observed us closely; nothinp
seemed to escape the quick glances of those beautiful
eyes. Presently she said :
'11*
III
0
I
! ('
i68 When the World Shook
"What, O Humphrey, is that with which you fasten
your neckdress?" and she pointed to the little gold
statue of Osiris that I used as a pin.
I told her that it was a statuette of a god named
Osiris and very, very ancient, probably quite five
thousand years old, a sutement at which she smiled a
little; also that it came from Egypt.
"Ah!" she answered, "is it so? I asked because
we have figures that are very like to that one, and they
also hold in their hands a staff surmounted by a loop.
They ar'. igures of Sleep's brother— Death."
•'Sf .3 this," I said. 'Among the Egyptians Ctsins
was tbt ifod of Death."
She nodded and replied that doubtless the symbol
had come down to them.
"One day you shall take me to see this land which
you call so very old. Or I will take you, which would
be quicker," she added. ^ .. . j «
We all bowed and said we should be delighted. Even
Bastin appeared anxious to revisit Egypt in such com-
pany, though when he was there it seemed to bore him.
But what she meant about teking us 1 could not guess.
Nor had we time to ask her, for she went on, watching
our faces as she spoke.
"The Lord Oro sends you a message, S>trangers.
He asks whether it is your wish to see where we dwell.
He adds that you are not to come if you do not desire,
or if you fear danger." u i j
We all answered that there was nothing we should
lik* better, but Bastin added that he had already seen
the tomb. ^ . . ,. ■ * _u v-.
"Do you think, Bastin, that we live m a tomb be-
cause we slept there for a while, awaiting the advent of
vou wanderers at the appointed hour?" ,
"I don't see where else it could be, unless it is
further down that cave," said Bastin. "The top <rf the
mountain would not be convenient as a residence.
"It has not been convenient for many an age, for
reasons that I will show you. Think now, before you
come. You have naught to fear from us, and 1 believe
The Under-world
169
that no harm will happen to vou. But you will see
many strange things that will anger Bickley because he
cannot undersund them, and perhaps will weary Bastin
because bis heart turns from what is wondrous and
ancient. Only Humphrey will rejoice in them because
the doors of his soul are open and he longs — what do
you long for, Humphrey?"
"That which I have lost and fear I shall never find
again," I answered boldly.
" I know that you have lost many things— last night,
for instance, you lost Tonutiy, anci when he slept with
me he told me much about you and — others."
"This is ridiculous," broke in Bastin. "Can a
dogulk?"
"Everything can tolk, if you understand its lan-
guage, Bastin. But keep a good heart, Humphrey, for
the bold seeker finds in the end. Oh I foolish man, do
you not understand that all is yours if you have but the
soul to conceive and the will to grasp ? All, all, below,
between, above I Even I know that, I who have so
much to learn."
So she spoke and became suddenly magnificent.
Her face which had been but that of a super-lovely
woman, took on grandeur. Her bosom swelled; her
presence radiated some subtle power, much as her hair
radiated light.
In a moment it was gone and she was smiling and
jesting.
"Will you come. Strangers, where Tommy was not
afraid to go, down to the Under-world? Or will you
stay here in the sun? Perhaps you will do better to
stay here in the sun, for the Under-world has terrors for
weak hearts that were born but yesterday, and feeble
feet may stumble in the dark."
"I shall take my electric torch," said Bastin with
decision, "and I advise you fellows to do the same. I
always hated cellars, and the catacombs at Rome are
worse, though full of sacred interest."
Then we started. Tommy frisking on ahead in a
most provoking way as though he were bored by a visit
III
i
"1
r.
X70 When the World Shook
to a stran« house and going home, and Yva gliding
I^H h'-lf*"'' 1*^"" "P°.1,'«^' ^"" ">« '^"s half mysti?
and half mischievous. We passed the remains of the
machines, and Bickley asked her what they were.
Carriages in which once we travelled through the
skies, until we found a better way, and that tEe un-
mstructed used till the end," she answered ouSLs"?
leaving me wondering what on earth she meant. ^
,.■„^^':'"^V° .^^ u'^^Y'^ "•"• »*>« wpulchre beneath
without trouble, for the glint of her hairf and I mavTdd
01 Tommy s back, were quite sufficient to guide us
or°Bf?,in flf'^K-'^*"" V^} ~'«"* *"« «^» there!
tor Bastin flashed his torch and we saw them, but the
boxes of radium had gone.
nh«^" ■**'*' "«''* d'e," she said to Bastin. "Hum-
^It^' ^'7 "^ y°y^ "S^^ •'^''d and give your left to
Bickley. Let Bastin cling to him and lear nothing."
We passed to the end of the tomb and stood aninst
The^dirE ^ '°^^ **"• "" '''°* tog«h?r, as
"Fear nothing," she said again, but next second I
was never more full of fear in my life, for we were
whirling downwards at a speed that would have made
an American elevator attendant turn pale.
"Don't choke me," I heard Bickley say to Bastin.
and the latter's murmured reply of : "«w"n,
.,.''j,.,"f^%<=°"'d bear these moving staircases and
tube-hfts. They always make me feel sick."
I admit that for my part I also felt rather sick and
clung tightly to the hand of the Glittering Ladv. She
however, placed her other hand upon my shoulder
saying in a low voice : 1- 7 » uuiuer,
"Did I not tell you to have no fear?"
Then I felt comforted, for somehow I knew that it
was not her desire to harm and much less to destroy me
Also Tommy was seated quite at his ease with his head
resting against my leg. and his absence of alarm was
reassuring. The only stoic of the party was Bicklev.
I have no doubt that he was quite as frightened as we
were, but rather than show it he would have died
IS
The Under-world 171
"I presume this machinery is pneumatic," he began,
when suddenly and without shocit, we arrived at the
end of our journey. How far we had fallen I am sure I
do not know, but 1 should judge from the awful speed
at which we travelled, that it must have been several
thousand feet, probably four or five.
"Everything seems steady now," remarked Bastin,
"so I suppose this luggage lift has stopped. The odd
thing is that I can't see anything of It. There ought to
be a shaft, but we seem to be standing on a level floor."
"The odd thine is," said Bickley, "that we can see
at all. Where the devil does the light come from
thousands of feet underground?"
"I don't know," answered Bastin, "unless there is
natural gas here, as I am told there is at a town called
Medicine Hat in Canada."
"Natural gas be blowed," said Bickley. "It
more like moonlight magnified ten times."
So it was. 1 he whole place was filled with a soft
radiance, equal to that of the sun at noon, but gentler
and without heat.
"Where does it come from?" I whispered to Yva.
"Ohl" she replied, as I thought evasively. "It is
the light of the Under<world which we know how to
use. The earth is full of light, which is not wonderful,
is it, seeing that its heart is fire ? Now look about you."
I looked and leant on her harder than ever, since
amazement made me weak. We were in some vast
place whereof the roof seemed almost as far off as the
sky at night. At least all that I could make out was a
dim and distant arch which might have been one of
cloud. For the rest, in every direction stretched vast-
ness, illuminated far as the eye could reach by the
soft light of which I have spoken, that is, probably for
several miles. But this vastness was not empty. On
the contrary it was occupied by a great city. There
were streets much wider than Piccadilly, all bordered
by houses, though these, I observed, were roofless, very
fine houses, some of them, built of white stone, or
marble. There were roadways and pavements worn
lit; 1
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Pi
17* When the World Shook
by the passage of feet. There, farther on, were market-
places or pubhc squares, and there, lastly, was a huge
central enclosure one or two hundred acres in extent,
which was filled with majestic buildings that looked
like palaces, or town-halls; and, in the midst of them
all, a vast temple with courts and a central dome. For
here, notwithstonding the lack of necessity, its builders
seemed to have adhered to the Over-world tradition,
and had roofed their fane.
And now came the terror. All of this enormous
city was dead. Had it stood upon the moon it could
not have been more dead. None paced its streets; none
looked from its window-places. None traflHcked in its
markets, none worshipped in its temple. Swept,
garnished, lighted, practically untouched by the hand
of Time, here where no rains fell and no winds blew, it
was yet a howling wilderness. For what wilderness is
there to equal that which once has been the busy haunt
of men ? Let those who have stood among the buried
cities of the Takla Makan, of Anarajapura in Ceylon, or
even amid the ruins of Salamis on the coast of Cyprus
answer the question. But here was something in-
finitely more awful. A huge human haunt in :he bowels
of the earth utterly devoid of human beings, and yet as
perfect as on the day when these ceased to be.
"I do not care for underground localities," remarked
Bastin, his gruff voice echoing strangely in that ter-
rible silence, "but it does seem a pity that all these fine
buildings should be wasted. I suppose their in-
habitants left them in search of fresh air."
"Why did thev leave them ?" I asked of Yva.
..r> "®^*^?"^* **^**" *°°^ them," she answered solemnly.
Even those who live a thousand years die at last, and
if they have no children, with them dies the race,"
Then were you the last of your people?" I asked.
Inquire of my father," she replied, and led the way
through the massive arch of a great building.
It led into a walled courtyard in the centre of which
was a plain cupola of marble with a gate of some pale
metal that looked like platinum mixed with gold. Thij
The Under-world
173
fate stood open. Within it was the statue of a woman
eautifully executed in white marble and set in a niche
of some blacli stone. The figure was draped as though
to conceal the shape, and the face was stern and
majestic rather than beautiful. The eyes of the statue
were cunningly made of some enamel which gave them
a strange and lifelike appearance. They stared up-
wards as though looking away from the earth and Us
concerns. The arms were outstretched. In the right
hand was a cup of black marble, in the left a similar
cup of white marble. From each of these cups
trickled a thin stream of sparkling water, which
two streams met and mingled at a distance of about
three feet beneath the cups. Then they fell into a metal
basin which, although it must have been quite a foot
thick, was cut right through by their constant impact,
and apparently vanished down some pipe beneath. Out
of this metal basin Tommy, who gambolled into the
place ahead of us, began to drink in a greedy and
demonstrative fashion.
"The Life-water?" I said, looking at our guide.
She nodded and asked in her turn :
"What is the statue and what does it sienifv.
Humphrey?" ^ ■"
I hesitated, but Bastin answered :
"Just a rather ugly woman who hid up her figure
because it was bad. Probably she was a relation of the
artist who wished to have her likeness done and sat
for nothing."
"The goddess of Health," suggested Bickley. "Her
proportions are perfect; a robust, a thoroughly normal
woman."
"Now, Humphrey," said Yva.
I stared at the work and had not an idea. Then it
flashed on me with such suddenness and certainty that
I am convinced the answer to the riddle was passed to
me from her and did not originate in my own mind.
•iTu'^'r®*^™^ *'"''® «asy," I said in a superior tone.
The figure symbolises Life and is draped because we
only see the face of Life, the rest is hidden. The arms
' f
%
vu
f
174 When the World Shook
are bare because Life is real and active. One cup is
black and one is white because Life brings both good
and evil gifts ; that is why the streams mingle, to be lost
beneath in the darkness of death. The features are
stern and even terrifying rather than lovely, because
such is the aspect of Life. The eyes look upward and
far away from present things, because the real life is
not here."
"Of course one may say anything," said Bastin,
"biit I don't understand all that."
"Imagination goes a long way," broke in Bickley,
who was vexed that he had not thought of this inter-
pretation himself. But Yva said :
"I begin to think that you are quite clever, Hum-
phrey. I wonder whence the truth came to you, for
such is the meaning of the figure and the cups. Had I
told it to you myself, it could not have been better said,"
and she glanced at me out of the corners of her eyes.
"Now, Strangers, will you drink? Once that gate was
guarded, and only at a great price or as a great reward
were certain of the Highest Blood given the freedom of
this fountain which might touch no common lips. In-
deed it was one of the causes of our last war, for all the
world which was, desired this water which now is lapped
by a stranger's hound."
"I suppose there is nothing medicinal in it?" said
Bastin. "Once when I was very thirsty, I made a
mistake and drank three tumblers of something of the
sort in the dark, thinking that it was Apollinaris, and
I don't want to do it aeain."
"Just the sort of thing you would do," said Bickley.
"But, Lady Yva, what are the properties of this
water ? "
"It is very health-giving," she answered, "and if
drunk continually, not less than once each thirty days,
it wards off sickness, lessens hunger and postpones
^ath for many, many yetrs. That is why those of the
High Blood endured so long and became the rulers of
the world, and that, as I have said, is the greatest of the
reasons why the peoples who dwelt in the ancient outer
The Under-world
175
countries and never wished to die, made war upon them,
to win this secret fountain. Have no fear, O Bastin,
for see, I will pledge you in this water."
Then she lifted a strange-looking, shallow, metal cup
whereof the handles were formed of twisted serpents,
that lay in the basin, filled it from the trickling stream,
bowed to us and drank. But as she drank I noted with
a thrill of joy that her eyes were fixed on mine as though
it were me she pledged and me alone. Again she filled
the cup with the sparkling water, for it did sparkle, like
that French liqueur in which are mingled little flakes of
gold, and handed it to me.
I bowed to her and drank. I suppose the fluid was
water, but to me it tasted more like strong champagne,
dashed with Chftteau Yquem. It was delicious. More,
its eflFects were distinctly peculiar. Something quick
and subtle ran through my veins; something that for
a few moments seemed to burn away the obscureness
which blurs our thought. I began to understand several
problems that had puzzled me, and then lost their
explanations in the midst of light, inner light, I mean.
Moreover, of a sudden it seemed to me as though a
window had been opened in the heart of th Glittering
Lady who stood beside me. At least I knevv that it was
full of wonderful knowledge, wonderful memories and
wonderful hopes, and that in the latter two of these I
had some part; what part I could not tell. Also I knew
that my heart was open to her and that she saw in it
something' which caused her to marvel and to sigh.
In a ^w seconds, thirty perhaps, all this was gone.
Nothing remained except that I felt extremely strong
and well, happier, too, than I had been for years.
Mutely I asked her for more of the water, but she shook
her head and, taking the cup from me, filled it again
and gave it to Bickley, who drank. He flushed, seemed
to lose the self-control which was his very strong char-
acteristic, and said in a rather thick voice :
"Curious I but I do not think at this moment there
is any operation that has ever been attempted which I
could not tackle single-handed and with success."
! > 'I
$ 1
(f'
7"
176 When the World Shook
and commenced sineine verv haHi„ t l- °- °^
somewhat raucou^ "^ ^ ^ ^'*'^' ^°' ""^ '^o":* *■»
From Greenland's icy mountains,
wfL *™« , ^'* *=•>'■«" strand,
Where Afric's sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand.
Cp^ing from melody, he added ;
awaiS^ou!" ""'^ ^"^ "•"y '^^''' ^« I^"i Oro.
We crossed the court of the Water n. i !r» -„j
TrmwfE^^'^H 'r "/'•« -dTm^/e^lve'-i'nf.S,'
Uramv friskmg ahead of us in a most excited wly fo/a
ThiTnortirJ; wi= P° ^'t"" ^ **=" *s upon his masters.
ter s^sSr be^ir if ^sfeid^sr"" ^??
that I irnnm I* "''"*"«= 'I omcrea irom any other
athUfeiiltyTmiX^^^^^^^^^^^
beauty and grace of some of thTcoIumns Tthe U«?r
The profuseness and rather grotSrchararter if^hJ
apprSh ffSeaf S?! .^'"^'" ^'^ ^-' ""'^-o^ -
whiJh^t^rtllr ''•°i'^'' ™«'"y "^t^ doors, one of
which stood ajar, into a vestibule which froii certain
The Under-world
'^•n
indications I gathered had once been a guard, or per-
haps an assembly-room. It was about forty feet deep
by a hundred wide. Thence she led us through a
smaller door into th i hall itself. It was a vast place
without columns, for there was no roof to support.
The walls of marble or limestone were sculptured like
those of Egyptian temples, apparently with battle
scenes, though of this I am not sure for I did not go
n^ar /o them. Except for a broad avenue along the
middle, up which we walked, the area was filled with
marble benches that would, I p»esume, have accom-
modated several thousand people. But they were
empty— empty, and oh I the loneliness of it all.
Far away at the head of the hall was a dais enclosed,
and, as it were, roofed in by a towering structure that
mingled grace and majesty to a wonderful degree. It
was modelled on the pattern of a huge shell. The base
of the shell was the platform ; behind were the ribs, and
above, the overhanging lip of the shell. On this plat-
form was a throne of silvery metal. It was supported
on the arched coils of snakes, whereof the tails formed
the back and the heads the arms of the throne.
On this throne, arrayed in gorgeous robes, sat the
Lord Oro, his white beard flowing over them, and a
jewelled cap upon his head. In front of him was a low
table on which lay graven sheets of metal, and among
them a large ball ofcrystal.
There he sat, solemn and silent in the midst of this
awful solitude, looking in very truth like a goo, as we
conceive such a being to appear. Small as he was in that
huge expanse of buildings, he seemed yet to dominate
it, in a sense to fill the emptiness which was accentuated
by his presence. I know that the sight of him filled me
with true fear which it had never done in the light of
day, not even when he arose from his crystal coffin.
Now for the first time I felt as though I were really in
the presence of a Being Supernatural. Doubtless the
surroundings heightened this impression. What were
these mighty edifices in the bowels of the world?
Whence came this wondrous, all-pervading and trans-
178 When the World Shook
lucent light, whereof we could see no nri<Tin •> T»ri.-»v
The th n^wMcrushi"- ^''' ^*'-"'**^ multitudes?
somethin\rout^eTf,lso?Hi'de's"^'' ^"' """"^^
himself comfortably Jt thi"Kf'lfV° '''" "^""'^ ^""^ «*
"I pre »t V01I »>>, . ."^V*?' "^ occupant.
"DauX; Q th^^ ^"' '" ^'* ''°^' '■«o"«"t voice,
with tC'" "'"'^ "'""^"^ ^° "'«'• I '^ovld speak
CHAPTER XV
ORO IN HIS HOUSE
We climbed on to the dais by some marble steps, and
sat ourselves down in four curious chairs of metal that
were more or less copied from that which served Oro as
a throne; at least the arms ended in graven heads of
snakes. These chairs were so comfortable that 1 con-
cluded the seats were fixed on springs, also we noticed
that they were beautifully polished.
"I wonder how they keep everything so clean," said
Bastin as we mounted the dais. "In this big place it
must take a lot of housemaids, though I don't see any.
But perhaps there is no dust here."
I shrugged my shoulders while we seated ourselves,
the Lady Yva and I on Oro's right, Bickley and Bastin
on his left, as he indicated by pointing with his finger.
"What say you of this city?" Oro asked after a
while of me.
"We do not know what to say," I replied. "It
amazes us. In our world there is nothing like to it."
"Perchance there will be in the future when the
nations grow more skilled in the arts of war," said Oro
darkly.
"Be pleased, Lord Oro," I went on, "if it is your
will, to tell us why the people who built this place cnose
to live in the bowels of the earth instead of upon its
surface."
"They did not choose; it was forced upon them,"
was the answer. "This is a city of refuge that they
occupied in time of war, not because they hated the sun.
In time of peace and before the Barbarians dared to
attack them, they dwelt in the city Pani which signifies
Above. You may have noted some of its remaining
179
K!«
br
1*!
180 When the World Shook
ruins on the mount and throughout the island. The rest
of them are now beneath the sea. But when trouble
came and the foe rained fire on them from the air, they
retreated to this town, Nyo, which signifies Beneath."
"And then?"
"And then they died. The Water of Life may pro-
long life, but it cannot make women bear chiluren.
That they will only do beneath the blue of heaven, not
deep in the belly of the world where Nature never de-
signed that they should dwell. How would the voices of
children sound in such halls as these? Tell me, you,
Bickley, who are a physician."
"I cannot. I cannot imagine children in such a
place, and if born here they would die," said Bickley.
Oro nodded.
"They did die, and if they went above to Pani they
were murdered. So soon the habit of birth was lost and
the Sons of Wisdom perished one by one. Yes, they
who rulrd the world and by tens of thousands of years
of toil had gathered into their bosoms all the secrets of
the world, perished, till only a few, and among them I
and this daughter of mine, were left."
"And then?"
"Then, Humphrey, having power so to do, I did
what long I had threatened, an J unchr'ned the forces
that work at the world's heart, and destroyed them who
were my enemies and evil, so that they perished by
millions, and with them all their works. Afterwards we
slept, leaving the others, our subjects who had not the
secret of this Sleep, to die, as doubtless they did in the
course of Nature or by the hand of the foe. The rest
you know."
"Can such a thing happen again?" asked Bickley
in a voice that did not hide his disbelief.
"Why do you question me, Bickley, you who be-
lieve nothir g of what I tell you, and therefore make
me wrath ? Still I will say this, that what I caused to
happen 1 can cause once more — only once, I think — as
perchance you shall learn before all is done. Now,
since you do not believe, I will tell you no more of our
PI
Oro in his House iSi
mysteries, no, not whence this light comes nor what are
£/TkS °' '^ ^'"^' °' ^'^«' both o" wWch yo"
long to know, nor ' ow to preserve the vital snark of
Being m the grave J dreamless s' ^en, like a liTe iewe
ma casket of dead stone, nor augnt else. As lo S
matters, Daughter, I bid you alio to be silent sina
B,ckley mocks at us. Yes, with all this around hrm!
Jfs hP«rf ""tk "? ''T '^"^ '^°«'"^' «»'" •no<=ks a.' usT.
aI. I ^.''"/fo^e let him, this little man of a little
day, vhen his few y-ars are done go to the tomb in
TXfu'' t"'' '"'" companions witli him. they wh"
might have been as wise as I am."
Thus Oro spoke in a voice of icy lace. his deen
rmv^hrn^f'"*1 '°'^'- "^"'"g '^'•" ^ <="^^«d Bickley
in my heart, for I was sure that once spoken, his decree
was like to that o the Medes and Persians and could not
i.lT'^i M^i^' ^°^^^"' *^ "°' i" the least dit
mayed. Indeed he argued the point. He told Oro
fS-^^""^',!^" he would not belfeve in the impossible
unti It had been shown to him .o be possible, and that
the law of Nature never had been and never could be
violated. It was no answer, he said, to show him
wonders without explaining their cause, since all that
he seemed to see might be but nental illusions produced
he knew not how. '^
Oro listened patiently, then answered :
.,, .Good. So be it, they are illusions. I am an
Illusion; those savages who died upon the rock will
tell you so. This fair woman before you is an Illusion :
Humphrey, I am sure, knows it as you will also before
you have done with her. Th^se halls are illusions
Live on in your illusions, O liti.c man of science, who
because you see the face of things, think that you know
the bcKiy and the heart, and can read the soul at work
w'lthin. You are a worthy child of tens of thousands
ot your breed who were before you and are now
forgotten."
Bickley looked up to answer, then changed hi.s mind
and was silent, thinking further argument dangerous,
and Oro went on : o >
.'I
** 1
a::
x82 When the World Shook
m'
"Now I differ from you, Bickley, in this way. I who
have more wisdom in my finger-poivt than you with all
the physicians of your world added to you, have in your
brains and bodies, yet desire to learn from those who
can give me knowledge. 1 understand from vour
words to my daughter that you, Bastin, teach a faith
that is new to me, and that this faith tells of life eternal
fcr the children of earth. Is it so ? "
"It is," said Bastin eagerly. "I will set out "
Oro cut him short with a wave of the hand.
"Not now in the presence of Bickley who doubtless
disbelieves your faith, as he does all else, holding it,
with justice or without, to be but another illusion. Yet
you shall teach me and on it I will form my own
judgment."
"I shall be delighted," said Bastin. Then a doubt
struck him, and he added : " But why do you wish to
learn ? Not that you may make a mock of my religion,
is it?"
"I mock at no man's belief, because I think that
what men believe is true — for them. I will tell you why
I wish to hear of yours, since I never hide the truth. I
who am so wise and old, yet must die ; though that time
may be far away, still I must die, for such is the lot of
man born of woman. And I do not desire to die.
Therefore I shall rejoice to learn of any faith that pro-
mises to the children of earth a life eternal beyond the
earth. To-morrow you shall begin to teach me. Now
leave me. Strangers, for I have much to do," and he
waved his hand towards the table.
We rose and bowed, wondering what he could have
to do down in this luminous hole, he who had been for
so many thousand*: of years out of touch with the world.
It occurred to me, however, that during this long period
he might have got in touch with other worlds, mdeed
he looked like it.
"Wait," he said, "I have something to tell you. I
have been studying this oook of writings, or world
pictures," and he pointed to my atlas which, as I now
observed for the first time, was also lying upon the table.
Oro in his House
183
I'l"'"^'' *"* """ch. Your country is small, very
•mall. When I caused it to be raised up I think that it
was larger, but since thei. that seas have flowed in."
Here Bickley groaned aloud.
"This one is much greater," went on Oro, casting a
glance at Bickley that must have penetrated him like a
searchlight. 1 hen he opened the map of Europe and
with his finger indicated Germany and Austr i-Hungary.
"I know nothine of the peoples of these lands," he added,
but as you belong to one of them and are my guests, I
trust that yours may succeed in the war."
"What war?" we asked with . c voice.
"Since Bickley is so clever, surely he should know
better than an illusion such as I. All I can tell you is
that I have learned that there is war between this
country and that," and he pointed to Great Briuin and
to Germany upon the map; "also between o' ers."
"It «s quite possible," I said, remembf ig many
thiiigs. But how do vou know ? " » /
"if I told you, Humphrey, Bickley would not
believe, so I will not tell. Perhaps I saw it in that
crystal, as did the necromancers of the early world.
Or perhaps the crystal serves some different purpose
and 1 saw it otherwise— with my soul. At least what I
say IS true.
"Then who will win?" asked Bastin.
"I cannot read the future. Preacher. If I could,
should I ask you to expound to me your religion which
probably is of no more worth than a score of others I
have studied, just because it tells of the future ? If I
could read the future I should be a god instead of only
an earth-lord," ^
"Your daughter called you a god and vou said that
you knew we were coming to wake you up, which is
reading the future," answered Bastin.
*' Every father is a god to his daughter, or should
be; also in my day millions named me a pod because I
saw further and struck harder than they could. As for
the rest, it (^me to me in a vision. Oh 1 Bickley, if you
were wiser than you think you are, you would know that
•»
i
:: I
9:!
;i:
$ t
Z84 When the World Shook
all things to come are born elsewhere and travel hither
like the li|;ht from stars. Sometimes they come faster
before their day into a single mind, and that is what
men call prophecy. But this is a ^ift which cannot be
commanded, even by me. Also I did not know that you
would come. I knew only that we should awaken and
by the help of men, for if none had been present at that
destined hour we must have died for lack of warmth and
sustenance."
"I deny your hypothesis in toto," exclaimed Bickley,
but nobody paid any attention to him.
"My father," said Yva, rising and bowing before
him with her swan-like grace, " I have noted your com-
mands. But do you permit that I show the temple to
these strangers, also something of our past ?"
"Yes, yes," he said. "It will save much talk in a
sav4ge tongue that is difficult to me. But bring them
here no more without my command, save Bastin only.
When the sun is four hours high in the upper world,
let him come to-morrow to teach me, and afterwards if
so I desire. Or if he wills, he can sleep here."
"I think I would rather not," said Bastin hurriedly.
"I make no pretence to being particular, but this place
does not appeal to me as a bedroom. There are degrees
in the pleasures of solitude and, in short, 1 will not
disturb your privacy at night."
Oro waved his hand and we departed down that
awful and most dreary hall.
" I hope you will spend a pleasant time here, Bastin,"
I said, looking back from the doorway at its cold,
Illuminated vastness.
"I don't expect to," he answered, "but duty is duty,
and if I can drag that old sinner back from the pit that
awaits him, it will be worth doing. Only I have my
doubts about him. To me he seems to bear a strong
family resemblance to Beelzebub, and he's a bad com-
panion week in and week out."
We went through the portico, Yva leading us, and
passed the fountain of Life-water, of wnich she
cautioned us to drink no more at present, and to pre-
Oro in his House
185
vent him from doing so, dragged Tommy past it by
his ojllar. Bickley, however, lingered under pretence of
making a further examination of the statue. As 1 had
seen him emptying into his pocket the contents of a
corked bottle of quinine tabloids which he always
earned with him, I guessed very well that his object
was to procure a sample of this water for future
analysis. Of course I said nothing, and Yva and
Bastin took no note of what he was doing.
When we were clear of the palace, of which we had
only seen one hall, we walked across an open space
made utterably dreary by the absence of any vegetation
or other sign of life, towards a huge building of
glorious proportions that was constructed of black
stone or marble. It is impossible for me to give any
idea of the frightful solemnity of this domed edifice, for
as I think I have said, it alone had a roof, standing
there in the midst of that brilliant, unvarying and most
unnatural illumination which came from nowhere and
yet was everywhere. Thus, when one lifted a foot,
there it was between the sole of the boot and the floor,
or to express it better, the boot threw no shadow. I
think this absence of shadows was perhaps the most
terrifying circumstance connected with that universal
and pervading light. Through it we walked on to the
temple. We passed three courts, pillared all of them,
and came to the building which was larger than St.
Paul s in London. We entered through huge doors
which still stood open, and presently found ourselves
beneath the towering dome. There were no windows,
why should there be in a place that was full of light?
There was no ornamentation, there was nothing except
black walls. And yet the general effect was magnificent
in Its majestic grace.
"In this place," said Yva, and her sweet voice went
whispering round the walls and the arching dome,
were buried the Kings of the Sons of Wisdom. They
lie beneath, each in his sepulchre. Its entrance is
yonder," and she pointed to what seemed to be a chapel
on the right. "Would you wish to see them ? "
!t
:f!
in ■
» / I-
186 When the World Shook
"Somehow I don't care to," said Bastin. "The
place IS dreary enough as it is without the company of
a lot of dead kings .''^
"I should like to dissect one of them, but I suppose
that would not be allowed," said Bickley.
"No," she answered. "I think that the Lord Oro
would not wish you to cut up his forefathers."
" When you and he went to sleep, why did you not
choose the family vault?" asked Bastin.
"Would you have found us there?" she queried by
way of answer. Then, understanding that the invita-
tion was refused by general consent, though person-
ally I should have liked to accept it, and have never
ceased regretting that I did not, she moved towards a
colossal object which stood beneath the centre of the
dome.
On a stepped base, not very different from that in
the cave but much larger, sat a figure, draped in a
cloak on which was graved a number of stars, doubt-
less to symbolise the heavens. The fastening of the
cloak was shaped like the crescent moon, and the foot-
stool on which rested the figure's feet was fashioned
to suggest the orb of the sun. This was of gold or some
such metal, the only spot of brightness in all that
temple. It was impossible to say whether the figure
were male or female, for the cloak falling in long,
straight folds hid its outlines. Nor did the head tell us,
for the hair also was hidden beneath the mantle and the
face might have been that of either man or woman. It
was terrible in its solemnity and calm, and its expres-
sion was as remote and mystic as that of Buddha, only
more stern. Also without doubt it was blind; it was
impossible to mistake the sightlessness of those staring
orbs. Across the knees lay a naked sword and beneath
the cloa!: the arms were hidden. In its complete
simplicity the thing was marvellous.
On either side upon the pedestal knelt a figure of
the size of life. One was an old and withered man with
death stamped upon his face ; the other was a beautiful,
naked woman, her hands clasped in the attitude of
Oro in his House
187
prayer and with vague terror written on her vivid
features.
Such was this glorious group of which the meaning
could not be mistaken. It was Fate throned upon the
siin, vvearing the constellations as his garment, armed
with the sword of Destiny and worshipped by Life and
Death. This interpretation I set out to the others.
Yva knelt before the statue for a little while, bowing
her head in prayer, and really I felt inclined to follow
her example, though in the end I compromised, as did
Bick ey, by taking off my hat, which, like the others,
I still wore from force of habit, though in this place
none was needed. Only Bastin remained covered.
"Behold the god of my people," said Yva. "Have
you no reverence for it, O Bastin ? "
"Not much," he answered, "except as a work of art.
You see I worship Fate's Master. I might add that
your god doesn't seem to have done much for you. Lady
Yva, as out of all your greatness there's nothing left
but two people and a lot of old walls and caves."
At first she was inclined to be angry, for I saw her
start. Then her mood changed, and she said with a
sigh:
'• Fate's Master 1 Where does He dwell ? "
"Here amongst other places," said Bastin. "I'll
soon explain that to you."
"I thank you," she replied gravely. "But why
have you not explained it to Bickley?" Then waving
her hand to show that she wished for no answer, she
went on :
"Friends, would you wish to learn something of the
history of my people ? "
"Very much," said the irrepressible Bastin, "but
"^u^ ''^'"*'' '''^ lecture took place in the open air."
That is not possible," she answered. "It must be
here and now, or not at all. Come, stand by me. Be
silent and do not move. I am about to set loose forces
that are dangerous if disturbed."
M
t
««
CHAPTER XVI
VISIONS OF THE PAST
W^
vi
:r
ij '.'•
i !'
1 1 'I
She led us to the back of the statue and pointed to each
of us where we should remain. Then she took her place
at ri^ht angles to us, as a showman might do, and for
a while stood immovable. Watching her face, once
more I saw it, and indeed all her body, informed with
that strange air of power, and noted that her eyes flashed
and that her hair grew even more brilliant than was
common, as though some abnormal strength were flow-
ing through it and her. Presently she spoke, saying :
" 1 shall show you first our people in the day of their
glory. Look in front of you.
We looked and by degrees the vast space of the apse
before us became alive with forms. At first these were
va^ue and shadowy, not to be separated or distin-
guished. Then they became so real that until he was
reproved by a kick, Tommy growled at them and
threatened to break out into one of his peals of barking.
A wonderful scene appeared. There was a palace
of white marble and in front of it a great courtyard upon
which the sun beat vividly. At the foot of the steps of
the palace, beneath a silken awning, sat a king en-
throned, a crown upon his head and wearing glorious
robes. In his hand was a jewelled sceptre. He was a
noble-looking man of middle age and about him were
gathered the glittering officers of his court. Fair women
fanned him and to right and left, but a little behind, sat
other fair and jewelled women who, I suppose, were his
wives or d ughters.
"One of the Kings of the Children of Wisdom new-
crowned, receives the homage of the world," said Yva.
A ■ she spoke there appeared, walking in front of
i88
Visions of the Past
189
the throne one by one, other kings, for all were crowned
and bore sceptres. At the foot of the throne each of
them kneeled and kissed the foot of him who sat thereon,
as he did so laying down his sceptre which at a sign he
lifted again and passed away. Of these kings there must
have been quite fifty, men of all colours and of various
types, white men, black men, yellow men, red men.
Then came their ministers bearing pifts, appar-
ently of gold and jewels, which were piled on trays in
front of the throne. I remember noting an incident.
An old fellow with a lame leg stumbled and upset his
tray, so that the contents rolled hither and thither. His
attempts to recover them were ludicrous and caused the
monarch on the throne to relax from his dignity and
smile. I mention this to show that what we witnessed
was no set scene but apparently a living piece of the
past. Had it been so the absurdity of the bedizened
old man tumbling down in the midst of the gorgeous
pageant would certainly have been omitted.
No, it must be life, real life, something that had hap-
pened, and the same may be said of what followed. For
instance, there was what we call a review. Infantry
marched, some of them armed with swords and spears,
though these I took to be an ornamental bodyguard,
and others with tubes like savage blowpipes of which I
could not guess the use. There were no cannon, but
c rriages came by loaded with bags that had spouts to
them. Probably these were charged with poisonous
fases. There were some cavalry also, mounted on a
Ifferent stamp of horse from ours, thicker set and nearer
the ground, but with arched neck? and fiery eyes and, I
should say, very strong. These again, I take it, were
ornamental. Then came other men upon a long
machine, slung in pairs in armoured sacks, out of which
only their heads and arms projected. This machine,
which resembled an elongated bicycle, went by at a
tremendous rate, though whence its motive power came
did not appear. It carried twenty pairs of men, each
of whom held in his hand some small but doubtless
deadly weapon, that in appearance resembled an orange.
It
(
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Z90 When the World Shook
Other similar machines which followed carried from
forty to a hundred pairs of men.
The marvel of the piece, however, were the aircraft.
These came by in great numbers. Sometimes they flew
in flocks like wild geese, sometimes singly, sometimes
in line and sometimes in ordered squadrons, with out-
post and officer ships and an exact distance kept be-
tween craft and craft. None of them seemed to be
very large or to carry more than four or five men, but
they were extraordinarily swift and as agile as swailows.
Moreover they flew as birds do by beating their win^s,
but again we could not guess whence came their motive
power.
The review vanished, and next appeared a scene of
festivity in a huge, illuminated hall. The Great King
sat upon a dais and behind him was that statue of Fate,
or one very similar to it, beneath which we stood. Below
him in the hall were the feasters seated at long tables,
clad in the various costumes of their countries. He rose
and, turning, knelt before the statue of Fate. Indeed
he prostrated himself thrice in prayer. Then taking his
seat again, he lifted a cup of wine and pledged that vast
company. They drank back to him and prosfated
themselves before him as he had done before the image
of Fate. Only I noted that certain men clad in sacer-
dotal garments not at all unlike those which are worn in
the Greek Church to-day, renained standing.
Now all this exhibition of terrestrial pomp faded.
The next so ne was simple, that of the death-bed of this
same king — we knew him by his wizened features. There
he lay, terribly old and dying. Physicians, women,
courtiers, all were there watching the end. The tableau
vanished and in place of it appeared that of the youthful
successor amidst cheering crowds, with jojr breaking
through the clouds of simulated grief upon his face. It
vanished also.
"Thus did great king succeed great king for ages
upon ages," said Yva. " There were eighty of them and
the average of their reigns was 700 years. They ruled
the earth as it was in those days. They gathered up
Visions of the Past
191
learning, they wielded power, their wealth was boundless.
Tbejr nurtured the arts, they discovered secrets. They
had intercourse with the stars; they were as gods. But
like the gods they grew jealous. They and their coun>
ciliors became a race apart who alone had the secret of
long life. The rest of the world and the commonplace
people about them suffered and died. They of the
Househ^'ld of Wisdom lived on in pomp for generations
till the earth was mad with envy of them.
" Fewer and fewer grew the divine race of the Sons of
Wisdom since children are not given to the aged and to
those of an ancient, outworn blood. Then the World
said:
" ' They are great but they are not many ; let us make
an end of them by numbers and take their place and
power and drink of their Life-water, that they will not
give to us. If myriads of us perish by their arts, what
does it matter, since we are cuuntless ? ' So the World
made war upon the Sons of Wisdom. See 1 "
Again a picture formed. The sky was full of air-
craft which rained down fire like flashes of lightning
upon cities beneath. From these cities leapt up other
fires that destroyed the swift-travelling things above, so
that they fell in numbers like gnats burned by a lamp.
Still more and more of them came till the cities crumbled
away and the flashes that darted from them ceased to
rush upwards. The Sons of Wisdom were driven from
the face of the earth.
Again the scene changed. Now it showed this
subterranean hall in which we stood. There was ponip
here, yet it was but a shadow of that which had been in
the earlier days upon the face of the earth. Courtiers
moved about the palace and there were people in the
radiant streets and the houses, for most of them were
occupied, but rarely did the vision show children
coming through their gates.
Of a sudden this scene shifted. Now we saw that
same hall in which we had visited Oro not an hour
before. There he sat, yes, Oro himself, upon the dais
beneath the overhanging marble shell. Round him
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19a When the World Shook
were some ancient councillors. In the body of the hall
on either side of the dais were men in military array,
guards without doubt though their only weapon was a
black rod not unlike a ruler, if indeed it were a weapon
and not a badge of ofiSce.
Yva, whose face had suddenly grown strange and
fixed, began to detail to us what was passing in this
scene, in a curious monotone such as a person might use
who was repeating something learned by heart. This
was the substance of what she said :
"The case of the Sons of Wisdom is desperate. But
few of them are left. Like other men they need food
which is hard to come by, since the foe holds the upper
earth and that whicn their doctors can make here in the
Shades does not satisfy them, even though they drink
the Life-water. They die and die. There comes an
embassy from the High King of the coni'ederated
Nations to talk of terms of peace. See, it enters."
As she spoL^, up the hall advanced the embassy. At
the head of it walked a young man, tall, dark, handsome
and commanding, whose aspect seemed in some way to
be familiar to me. He was richly clothed in a purple
cloak and wore upon his head a eolden circlet that sug-
gested royal rank. Those who followed him were mostly
old men who had the astute faces of diplomatists, but a
few seemed to be generals. Yva continued in her mono-
tonous voice :
"Comes the son of the King of the confederated
Nations, the Prince who will be kinp. He bows before
the Lord Oro. He says, ' Great and Ancient Monarch of
the divine blood, Heaven-born One, your strait, and thac
of those who remain to you, is sore. Yet on behalf of
the Nations I am sent to offer terms of peace, but this I
may only do in the presence of your child who is your
heiress and the Queen-to-be of the Sons of Wisdom.' "
Here, in the picture, Oro waved his hand and from
behind the marble shell appeared Yva herself, gloriously
apparelled, wearing royal ornaments and with her train
held by waiting ladies. She bowed to the Prince and
Visions of the Past 193
hia company and they bowed back to her. More, we
saw a stance of recognition pass between her and the
Prince.
Now the real Yva by our side pointed to the shadow
Yya of the vision or the picture, whichever it might be
calledj a stranee thing to see her do, and went on :
"The daughter ot the Lord Oro comes. The Prince
of the Nations salutes her. He says that the great war
has endured for hundreds of years between the Children
of Wisdom fighting for absolute rule and the common
people of the earth fighting for liberty. In that war
many millions of the Sons of the Nations had perished,
brought to their death by fearful arts, by wizardries and
bv plagues sown among them by the Sons of Wisdom.
Yet they were winning, for the glorious cities of the
Sons of Wisdom were destroyed and those who
remained jf them were driven to dwell in the aives of
the earth where with all their strength and magic they
could not increase, but faded like flowers in the dark.
"The Lord Oro asks what are the terms of peace
proposed by the Nations. The Prince answers th»t they
are these : That the Sons of Wisdom shall teach all their
wisdom to the wise men among the Nations. That they
shall give them to drink of the Life-water, so that then-
length of days also may be increased. That they shall
cease to destroy them by sickness and their mastery of
the forces which are hid in the womb of the world. If
they will do these things, then the Nations on their part
will cease from war, will rebuild the cities they have
destroyed by means of their flying ships that rain down
death, and will agree that the Lord Oro and his seed
shall rule them for e"er as the King of kings.
"The Lord Oro asks if that be all. The Prince
answers that it is not all. He says that when he dwelt
a hostage at the court of the Sons of Wisdom he and the
divine Lady, the daughter of the Lord Oro, and his only
living child, learned to love each other. He demands,
and the Nations demand, that she shall be given to him
to wife, that in a day to come he may rule with her and
their children after them.
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294 When the World Shook
"See I " went on Yva in her chanting, dreamy voice,
"the Lord Oro asks his daujliter if this be true. She
says," here the real Yva at my side turned and looked
me straight in the eyes, "that it is true; that she loves
the Prince of the Nations and that if she lives a million
years she will wed no other man, since she who is her
father's slave in all else is still the mistress of herself,
as has ever been the rieht of lier rcyal mothers.
"See again I The Lord Oro, the divine Kine, the
Ancient, grows wroth. He says that it is enough and
more than enough that the Barbarians should ask to eat
of the bread of hidden learning and to drink of the Life-
water of the Sons of Wisdom, gifts that were given to
them of old by Heaven whence they sprang in the be-
ginning. But that one of them, however highly placed,
should dare to ask to mix his blood with that of the
divine Lady, the Heiress, the Queen of the Earth to be,
and claim to share her imperial throne that had been
held by her pure race from age to age, was an insult
that could only be purged by death. Sooner would
he give his daughter in marriage to an ape than to a
child of the Barbarians «'ho had worked on ther.i so
many woes and striven lo break the golden fetters of
their rule.
"Look again!" continued Yva. "The Lord Oro,
the divine, grows angrier still " (which in truth he did,
for never did I see such dreadful rage as that which the
picture revealed in him). " He warns, he threatens. He
says that hitherto out of gentle love and pity he has held
his hand : that he has strength at his command which
will slay them, not bv millions in slow war, but by tens
of millions at one blow : that will blot them and their
peoples from the face of earth and that will cause the
deep seas to roll where now their pleasant lands are fruit-
ful in the sun. They shrink before his fury; behold,
their knees tremble because they know that he has this
power. He mocks them, does the Lord Oro. He asks
for their submission here and now, and that in the name
of the Nations they should take the great oath which
may not be broken, swearing to cease from w!u- upon
Visions of the Past 195
the Sons of Wisdom and to obey them in all things to
the ends of the earth. Some of the ambassadors would
yield. They look about them like wild things that are
trapped. But madness ukes the Prince. He cries that
the oath of an ape is of no account, but that he will tear
up the Children of Wisdom as an ape tears leaves, and
afterwards uke the divine Lady to be his wife.
"Look on the Lord Oro I " continued the living Yva,
"his wrath leaves him. He grows cold and smiles.
His daughter throws herself upon her knees and pleads
with him. He thrusts her away. She would sprmg to
the side of the Prii ce; he commands his councillors to
hold hi*r. She cries to the Prince that she loves him
and him only, and that in a dav to come him she will
wed and no other. He thanks her, saying that as it is
with her, so it is with him, and that because of this love
he fears nothing. She swoons. The Lord Oro
motions with hisliand to the guard. They lift their
death-rods. Fire leaps from them. The Prince and his
companions, all save those who were afraid and would
have sworn the oath, twist and writhe. They turn
black; they die. The Lord Oro commands those who
are left to enter their flying ships and bear to the
Nations of the Earth tidings of what befalls those who
dare to defy and insult him ; to warn them also to eat
and drink and be merry while they may, since for their
wickedness they are about to perish."
The scene faded and there followed another which
really I cannot describe. It represented some vast
underground place and what appeared to be a huge
mountain of iron clothed in light, literally a thing like
an alp, rocking and spinning down a declivity, which
farther on separated into two branches because of a huge
razor-edge precipice that rose between. There in the
middle of this vast space with the dazzling mountain
whirling towards him, stood Oro encased in some trans-
parent armour, as though to keep oflF heat, and with him
his daughter who under his direction was '• v.' ig
something in the rock behind her. Then thek w 3 a
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Z96 When the World Shook
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blinding flash and everything vanished.
"tly that we could not grasp its
All of this
picture passed so swiftfy
deuilat only a general impression remained.
"The Lord Oro, using the strength that is in the
world whereof he alone nas the secret, changes the
world's balance, causing that which was land to become
sea and that which was sea to become land," said Yva
in her chanting, unnatural voice.
Another scene of stupendous and changing awful-
ness. Gentries were sinking, cities crashing down,
volcanoes \ 'e spouting fire ; the end of the earth seemed
to be at hand. We could see human beings running
to and fro in thousands like ants. Then in huge waves
hundreds and hundreds of feet high, the ocean flowed in
and all was troubled, yeasty sea.
"Oro carries out his threat to destroy the Nations
who bad rebelled against him," said Yva. "Much of
the world sinks beneath the waves, but in place of it
other lands arise above the waves, to be Inhabited by the
seed of those who remain living in those portions of the
Earth that the deluge spared."
This horrible vision passed and was succeeded by
one more, that of Oro standing in the sepulchre of the
cave by the side of the crystal coffin which contained
what appeared to be the body of his daughter. lie
fazed at her, then drank some potion and laid himself
own in the companion coffin, that in which we had
found him.
AH vanished away and Yva, appearing to wake from
some kind of a trance, smiled and in her natural voice
asked if we had seen enough.
"Quite," I answered in a tone that caused her to say :
"I wonder what you have seen, Humphrey. Myself
I do not know, since it is through me that you see at all
and when you see I am in vou who see."
"Indeed," I replied. "Well, I will tell you about it
Uter."
"Thank you so much," exclaimed Bastin, recovering
suddenly from his amazement. "I have heard a great
Visions of the Past 197
»'l,^iu£;"h"?.?''!."^"P^'"'* '''°*» *•''<='' «"« becoming
b2c«^« h^ir^nfl.'""" "'^T ''^°'**^'* attending them
aoubtful, and a priest must set a good examole to hi^
congregation, j/ow I see that they ^ havTa dSlnct
rorn«"'' '*'""• ''" '^ " ^'^ P«^"'«* in the form of
•'How is it done?" asked Bicitley, almost fiercely.
I A V "o' a''ogether Ijnow," she answered. "This
I do know, however, that everything which has hao-
pi-ned on th s world can be seen from moment to moment
sin^T«rh^uL"i/''MfP"'* °^ •"•P""' f°^ thither fhe
?h-nL ^ • "• ^herc, too, it can be caught and
r^S^n^J" ",? '"'•""' T'i""''^ '° «^'>«h againf to be
reflected m tlie mirror of the present by thos? who know
IWW." ^°"' '^''^y' '=^" *°'''" """^h problem^ for
thinL"f ^hil M^'i "''"*^' ^"^y ^^»'" said Bas'in. "I
is "t is r hJi ;^H? «^" ^"' "'J"'^ P'^'^^' interesting
to attend to, especially as f understand I am to come
back here to-morrow. Would you mind showing me
the way to that lift or moving staircase? " ^
Come," she said, smiling.
So we went past the image of Fate, out of the temole
down the vast and lonely streets so unnaturally inS
ated, o the place where we had first found ourselves on
arrival in the depths. There we stood.
«,hM»H T""' '*'?•■ *"** ^'^ **'« whirling up as we had
whirled down. I suppose that Yva came with us
hough I never saw her do so, and the odd thing was
S~L .*" J"" ''"jy^'^ 1" 'he sepulchre, she seemed
already to be standing there waiting to direct us.
Really, remarked Bastin, "this is exactly like
M^^kelyne and Ojok. Did you ever see their perform!
ance, Bickley? If so, it must have given you lots to
explain for quite a long while."
"Jugglery never appealed to me, whether in London
or :n Orofena, replied Bickley in a sour voice as he
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X98 When the World Shook
extracted from his pocket an end of candle to which he
set light.
"What is jugglery?" asked Bastin, and they
departed arguing, leaving me alone with Yva in the
sepulchre*
"What have I seen ?" I asked her.
"I do not know. Humphrejr. Everyone sees differ-
ent things, but perhaps something of the truth."
" I hope not, Yva, for amongst other things I seemed
to see you swear yourself to a man for ever."
"Yes, and this I did. What of it?"
"Only that it might be hard for another man."
"Yes, for another man it might be hard. You were
once married, were you not, Humphrey, to a wife who
died?"
"Yes, I was married."
"And did you not swear to that wife that you would
never look in love upon another woman ? "
" I did," I answered in a shamed voice. " But how
do you know ? I never told you so."
" Oh ! I know you and therefore guessed."
"Well, what of it, Yva?"
"Nothing, except that you must find your wife before
you lo\ 1 again, and before I love again I must find him
whom I wish to be my husband."
"How can that happen," I asked, "when both are
dead?"
"How did all that you have seen to-day in Nyo
happen?" she replied, laughing softly. "Perhaps you
are very blind, Humphrey, or perhaps we both are blind.
If so, mayhap light will come to us. Meanwhile do not
be sad. To-morrow I will meet you and you shall teach
me — your English tongue, Humphrey, and other
things."
"Then let it be in the sunlight, Yva. I do not love
those darksome halls of Nyo that glow like something
dead."
"It is fitting, for are they not dead?" she answered,
with a little laugh. "So be it. Bastin shall teach my
father down below, since sun and shade are the same to
Visions of the Past
199
him who only thinks of his religion, and you shall teach
me up above."
"I am not so certain about Bastin and of what he
thinks," I said doubtfully. "Also will the Lord Oro
permit you to come ? "
"Yes, for in such matters I rule myself. Also," she
added meaningly, "he remembers my oath that I will
wed no man — save one who is dead. Now farewell a
while and bid Bastin be here when the sun is three hours
high, not before or after."
Then I left her.
CHAPTER XVII
YVA EXPLAINS
When I reached the rock I was pleased to find Maraina
and about twenty of his people engaged in erecting the
house that we had ordered them to build for our accom-
modation. Indeed, it was nearly finished, since house-
building in Orofena is a simple business. The frame-
' i* • work of poles let into palm trunks, since they could not
' '* be driven into the rock, had been put together on the
further shore and towed over bodily by canoes. The
overhanging rock formed one side of the house; the
ends were of palm leaves tied to the poles, and the roof
was of the same material. The other side was left open
for the present, which in that equable and balmy clime
was no disadvantage. The whole edifice was about
thirty feet long by fifteen deep and divided into two
portions, one for sleeping and one for living, bv a palm
leaf partition. Really, it was quite a comfortable abode,
cool and rainproof, especially after Bastin had built his
hut in which to cook. .
Marama and his people were very humble in their
demeanour and implored us to visit them on the main
island. I answered that perhaps we would later on, as
we wished to procure certain things from the wreck.
Also, he requested Bastin to continue his ministrations
as the latter greatly desired to do. But to this proposal
I would not allow him to give any direct answer at the
moment. Indeed, I dared not do so until I was sure of
Ore's approval.
Towards evening they departed in their canoes,
leaving behind them the usual ample store of provisions.
We cooked our meal as usual, only to discover that
what Yva had said about the Life-water was quite true,
200
Yva Explains
201
since we had but little appetite for solid food, though
this returned upon the following day. The same thing
happened upon every occasion after drinking of that
water which certainly was a most invigoratmg fluid.
Never for years had any of us felt so well as it caused
us to do.
So we lit our pipes and talked about our experiences,
though of these, indeed, we scarcely knew what to say.
Bastin accepted them as something out of the common,
of course, but as facts which admitted of no discussion.
After all, he said, the Old Testament told much the
same story of per':le called the Sons of God who lived
very long lives and ran after the daughters of men
whom they should have left alone, and thus became the
progenitors of a remarkable race. Of this race, he
presumed that Oro and his daughter were survivors,
especially as they spoke of their family as "Heaven
born." How they came to survive was more than he
could understand and really scarcely worth bothering
over, since there they were.
It was the same about the Deluge, continued Bastin,
although naturally Oro spoke falsely, or, at any rate,
grossly exaggerated, when he declared that he h?d
caused this catastrophe, unless indeed he was talking
about a totally different deluge, thr)ugh even then he
could not have brought it about. It was curious, how-
ever, that the people drowned were lid to have been
wicked, and Oro had the same opmion about those
whom he claimed to have drowned, though for the
matter of that, he could not conceive anyone more
wicked than Oro himself. On his own showing he was
a most revengeful person and one who declined to agree
to a quite suitable alliance, apparently desired by both
parties, merely because it offended his family pride.
No, on reflection he might be unjust to Oro in this par-
ticular, since he never told that story ; it was only shown
in some pictures which very likely were just made up to
astonish us. Meanwhile, it was his business to preach
to this old sinner down in that hole, and he confessed
honestly that he did not like the job. Still, it must be
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I
202 When the World Shook
done, so with our leave he would go apart and seek
inspiration, which at present seemed to be quite lacking.
Thus declaimed Bastin and departed.
"Don't you tell him your opinion about the Deluge or
he may cause another just to show that you are wrong,"
called Bickley after him.
"I can't help that," answered Bastin. "Certainly I
shall not hide the truth to save Oro's feelings, if he
has got any. If he revenges himself upon us in any
way, we must just put up with it like other martyrs."
"I haven't the slightest ambition to be a martyr,"
said Bickley.
"No," shouted Bastin from a little distance, "I am
quite aware of that, as you have often said so before.
Therefore, if you become one, I am sorry to say that I
do not see how you can expect any benefit. You would
only be like a man who puts a sovereign into the
offertory bag in mistake for a shilling. The extra nine-
teen shillings will do him no good at all, since in his
heart he regrets the error and wishes that he could have
them back."
Then he departed, leaving me laughing. But
Bickley did not laugh.
"Arbuthnot," he said, "I have come to the con-
clusion that I have gone quite mad. I beg you if I
should show signs of homicidal mania, which I feel
developing in me where Bastin is concerned, or of other
abnormal violence, that you will take whatever steps
you consider necessary, even to putting me out of the
way if that is imperative."
"What do you mean?" I asked. "You seem sane
enough."
"Sane, when I believe that I have seen and experi-
enced a great number of things which I know it to be
quite impossible that I should have seen or experi-
enced? The only explanation is that I am suffering
from delusions."
"Then is Bastin suffering from delusions, too?"
"Certainly, but that is nothing new in his case."
"I don't agree with you, Bickley — about Bastin, I
Yva Explains
ao3
mean. I am by no means certain that he is not the
-wisest of the three of us. He has a faith and he sticks
to it, as millions have done before him, and that is
better than making spiritual experiments, as I am sorry
to say I do, or rejecting things because one cannot
understand them, as you do, which is only a form of
intellectual vanity."
"I won't argue the matter, Arbuthnot; it is of no
use. I repeat that I am mad, and Bastin is mad.''
" How about me ? I also saw and experienced these
things. Am I mad, too?"
" You ought to be, Arbuthnot. If it isn't enough to
drive a man mad when he sees himself exactly repro-
duced in an utterly impossible moving-picture show
exhi' 'ted by an utterly impossible young woman in an
utterly impossible underground city, then I don't know
what is."
"What do you mean?" I asked, starting.
"Mean? Well, if you didn't notice it, there's hope
for you."
"Notice what?"
"All that envoy scene. There, as I thought, ap-
peared Yva. Do you admit that?"
"Of course; there could be no mistake on that
point."
"Very well. Then according to my version there
came a man, still jfoung, dressed in outlandish clothes,
who made propositions of peace and wanted to marry
Yva, who wanted to marry him. Is that right?"
"Absolutely."
"Well, and didn't you recognise the man?"
"No; I only noticed that he was a fine-looking
fellow whose appearance reminded me of someone."
"I suppose it must be true," mused Bickley, "that
we do not know ourselves."
"So the old Greek thought, since he urged that this
should be our special study. 'Know thyself,' you
remember."
"I meant physically, not intellectually. Arbuthnot,
do you mean to "tell me that you did not recognise your
204 When the World Shook
own double in that man? Shave of! yo"r beard and
put^on h.s clothes and no one could ZL^sh ^u
I sprang up, dropping my pipe.
Now you mention it," I said slowly, "I suppose
there was a resemblance. I didn't look at h^^^^
much; 1 was studying the simulacrum of Yva. Also
pTr-STes'in^Sn^r ^^"^^"^ '"-"' ^'^^ ^ ^
jis?^:T^"--Suns;^xiS.ir^
S'bfmad.""'"^"- ^"* ^^ ' - -'' ' •^"- thS !
n,.n3''L^ After all, an ancient man and a modern
man might resemble each other."
with'T.np'VT*^''^'?* '" "-esembUnce," said Bickley
H„n,nl?r h's contemptuous snorts. "It won't do,
Humphrey, my boy," ne added. "I can only think
of madS' '' explanation-outside of the obSus one
"What is that?"
thaf"SL^l'""'"f Lady produced what Bastin called
nrff ? S:t, •5^!?'' ^''"'^ J" ^<^'"« ^ay or other, did she
hfrfl ^ ^"^ *T^^' '" "'■^^^ ^« '^o this she loosed some
hidden forces. I suggest that she did nothing of the
•|Then whence did the pictures come and why?"
r«rtI^H"J,.^f T" ^l^'"]' '" °'''^^'" *° '""press us with a
cock^nd-bull, fairy-book story If this were so she
would quite naturally fill the r61e of the lover of the
Sr Sci't^hi^rm^^la^J^..^^"^ '''''^^' - ™P-^
cnnZoH P^^^PP^^e a great deal, Bickley, including
supernatural cunning and unexampled hypnotic in-
fluence. I don't know, first, why she should be so
anxious to add another impression to the many we have
received in this place; and, secondly, if she was, how
She managed to mesmerise three average but totallv
different men into seeing the same things. My explana-
tion IS that you were deceived as to the likeness, whirh
Yva Explains
205
Bastin^''"'/ '"*' "°' ^cognise; nor, apparently, did
"Bastin never recognises anything. But if you are
in doubt, ask Yva herself. She ought to know. Now
? u .*** *'■>' '° analyse that confounded Life-water,
which I suspect is of the ordinary spring variety,
lightened up with natural carbonic acid gas and possibly
not uninfluenced by radium. The trouble is that here I
can only apply some very elementary tests."
So he went also, in an opposite direction to BasUn.
and I was left alone with Tommy, who annoyed me
much by attempting continually to wander off into the
cave, whence I must recall him. I suppose that my
Mperiences of the day, reviewed beneath the sweet in-
fluences of the wonderful tropical night, affected me.
T »t,^"^i''*n'i f mystical side of my nature, to which
X thmk I alluded at the beginning of this record, sprang
into active and, in a sense, unholy life. The noniial
vanished, the abnormal took possession, and that is un-
holy to most of us creatures of habit and tradition, at
any rate, if we are British. I lost my footing on the
world; my spirit began to wander in strange places: of
course, always supposing that we have a spirit, which
iJickley would deny.
I gave up reason ; I surrendered myself to unreason :
It is a not unpleasant process, occasionally. Supposing
now that all we see and accept is but the merest fragt
ment of the truth, or perhaps only a refraction thereof ?
Supposing that we do live again and again, and that
our animating principle, whatever it might be, does in-
habit various bodies, which, naturally enough, it would
shape to its own taste and likeness? Would that taste
and likeness vary so very much over, let us say. a
million years or so, which, after all, is but an hour, or
a minute, in the aons of Eternity ?
On this hypothesis, which is so wild that one begins
to suspect that it may be true, was it impossible that I
and that murdered man of the far past were in fact
Identical? If the woman were the same, preserved
across the gulf in some unknown fashion, why should
feiai
ao6 When the World Shook
not her lover be the same ? What did I say — her lover ?
Was I her lover? No, I was the lover of one who had
died — my lost wife. Well, if I had died and lived again,
why should not— why should not that Sleeper—have
lived again during her long sleep ? Through all those
years the spirit must have had some home, and, if so,
m what shapes did it live ? There were points, similari-
ties, which rushed in upon me — oh ! it was ridiculous.
Bickley was right. We were all mad I
There was another thing. Oro had declared that we
were at war with Germany. If this were so, how could
he know it ? Such knowledgij would presume powers of
telepathy or vision beyond those given to man. I could
not believe that he possessed these; as Bickley said, it
would be past experience. Yet it was most strange that
he who was uninformed as to our national history and
daneers, should have hit upon a country with which we
might well have been plunged into sudden struggle.
Here again I was bewildered and overcome. My brain
rocked. I would seek sleep, and in it escape, or at any
rate rest from all these mysteries.
On the following morning we despatched Bastin to
keep his rendezvous in the sepulchre at the proper time.
Had we not done so I felt sure that he would have
forgotten it, for on this occasion he was for once an un-
willing missioner. He tried to persuade one of us to
come with him — even Bickley would have been wel-
come J but we both declared that we could not dream of
interfering in such a professional matter; also that our
presence was forbidden, and would certainly distract the
attention of his pupil.
"What you mean," said the gloomy Bastin, "is that
you intend to enjoy yourselves up here in the female
companionship of the Glittering' Lady whilst I sit
thousands of feet underground attempting to lighten the
darkness of a violent old sinner whom I suspect of being
in league with Satan."
" With whom you should be proud to break a lance,"
said Bickley.
Yva Explains 207
"So I am, in the daylight. For instance, when he
uses your mouth to advance his arguments, Bickley,
but this is another matter. However, if I do not appear
again you will know that I died in a good cause, and, I
hope, try to recover my remains and sive them decent
burial. Also, you might inform the Bishop of how I
came to my end, that is, if you ever get an opportunity,
which is more than doubtful."
"Hurry up, Bastin, hurry up! " said the unfeeling
Bickley, "or you will be late for your appointment and
put your would-be neophyte into a bad temper."
Then Bastin went, carrying under his arm a large
Bible printed in the language of the South Sea Islands.
A little while later Yva appeared, arrayed in her
wondrous robes which, being a man, it is quite impos-
sible for me to describe. She saw us looking at these,
and, after greeting us both, also Tommy, who was en-
raptured at her coming, asked us how the ladies of our
country attired themselves.
We tried to explain, with no striking success.
"You are as stupid about such matters as were the
men of the Old World," she said, shaking her head and
laughing. "I thought that you had with you pictures
of ladies you have known which would show me."
Now, in fact, I had in a pocket-book a photograph
of my wife in evening-dress, also a miniature of her
head and bust painted on ivory, a beautiful piece of
work done by a master hand, which I always wore.
These, after a moment's hesitation, I i.roduced and
showed to her, Bickley having gone away for a little
while to see about something connected with his at-
tempted analysis of the Life-water. She examined them
with great eagerness, and as she did so I noted that her
face grew tender and troubled.
"This was your wife," she said as one who states
what she knows to be a fact. I nodded, and she went on :
"She was sweet and beautiful as a flower, but not so
tall as I am, I think."
"No," I answered, "she lacked height; given that
she would have been a lovely woman."
I.t.*
ir.
old
308 When the World Shook
"I am glad you think that women should be tall "
she M.d, grancmg at her shadow. "The ey^wS^ such
as mine, were tliey not— in coJour, I mean ?"
"XK®'. ^"y ''"'." y°""' •'"'y yo"" are larger."
w^..M 'l " bea"V/"' w'.y of wearing the hai
En.^°" ""^'^ " ' '"'"^ "'■' ' ^''"^y °^ «his ol
"Why should I be angry?" I asked.
to t^L nf .hTTf"f Bi'^kley reappeared, and she bi-gan
to talk of the details of the dress, saying that it showed
more of the neck than had been the custom amonK*hc
*°^n", **' ''*'■ people, but was very pretty.
Bicklei^'"^^ l^^f"'*' ''" *'' "''" barbarians," said
Bickley, at least, our women are, and therefore relv
JJonder^."""""' "'''^'^' °^ attraction, like the slvages
Ko.b'll*"'u^'^' ""'J' a^ter a last, long glance, gave me
"I rejoice to see that you are faithful, Humphrey,
and wear this picture on your heart, as well as in it.*^
Rirni„ " J^v """J ^ * ^"'y remarkable woman," said
Bickley. "Never before did I hear one of your sex
rejoice because a man was faithful to somebocfy else."
*i, . u ""='''ey been disappointed in his love-heart,
Smiv V '^ ^"i?'^ *''■ u* ^onie"?" asked Yva innol
i„E °/ '""V ^hether he had been successful in his
analysis of the Life-water.
/'^°^^°20" know what I was doing with the Life-
water? Did feastin tell vou ?" exclaimed Bickley.
«f th.^J"' tod me nothing, except that he was afraid
of the descent to Nyo; that he hated Nyo when he
JffhPr ,h'' T^" 'a'^A^'^ ^ '^°' ^"^ ^^^^ ^^ '•nought that my
father, the Lord Oro, was a devil or evil spirit from some
Under-world which he called hell."
"Bastin has an open heart and an open mouth,"
said Bickley, "for which I respect him. Follow his
example if you will, Lady Yva, and tell us who and
what is the Lord Oro, and who and what are you."
Yva Explains 209
TK " f*'^ ^* "*" i'^"* ^ "'"^y ? " not. I will repMt.
I he Lord Oro and I are two who have lived on (roiTthe
OW tune when the world was different, and yet, I think,
the same. He is a man and not a god, and I am a woman .
His powers are great because o« his knowledge, which
he has gathered from his forefathers and in a life of a
thousand years before he went to sleep. He can do
things you cannot do. Thus, he can pass through space
and take others with him, and returV again. He can
learn what IS happening in far-oflf parts of the world, as
he did when he told you of the war in which your
t?Z7^,'' concerned. He has terrible powers; fo? in-
stance, he can kill, as he killed those savages. Also, he
knows the secrets of the earth, and, if it pllases him, can
change its turning so that earthquakes happen and sea
becomes land and land sea, and the places that were
'..§1?^^/ • ^'"'^ *^°^ *•*"' w«« cold grow hot "
♦h» iT ""f"'!! ''''P^^ M*^^ happened many times in
kIL ffK^T''^i''A^'lr''' •*«''** ^'^<=^^^y, "without the
help of the Lord Oro."
"Others had knowledge before my father, and others
doubtless will have knowledge after him. Even I Yva
have some knowledge, and knowledge is strength." '
Yes, I interposed, "but such powers as you attri-
bute to your father are not given to man."
n- i"7°" ?**?. *? •"*" *^ y°" '"»ow !>•">, man like
liickley, who thinks that he has learned everything that
was ever learned. But it is not so. Hundreds of thou-
sands of years ago men knew more than it seems they
do to-day, ten times more, as they lived ten times lonirer.
or so you tell me." * '
"Men?" I said.
"Yes, men, not gods or spirits, as the uninstructed
nations supposed them to be. My father is a man sub-
ject to the hopes and terrors of man. He desires power
which IS ambition, and when the world refused his rule
he destroyed that part of it which rebelled, which is re-
venge. Moreover, above all things he dreads death,
which is fear. That is why he suspended life in himself
and me for two hundred and fifty thousand years, as
|- ;■■-■;
azo When the World Shook
hU knowledge gave him strength to do, because death
was near and he thought that sleep was better than
death."
"Why should he dread to die," asked Bickley,
seeing that sleep and death are the same?"
"Because his knowledge tells him that Sleep and
Death are not the same, as you, in your foolishness,
believe, for there Bastin is wiser than vou. Because for
all his wisdom he remains ignorant of what happens to
man when the Light of Life is blown out by the breath
of Fate. That is why he fears to die and why he talks
with Bastin the Preacher, who says he has the secret of
the future."
"And do you fear to die ?" I asked.
"No, Humphrey," she answered gently. "Because
I think that there is no death, and, having done no
wrong, I dread no evil. I had dreams while I was
asleep, O Humphrey, and it seemed to me that "
Here she ceased and glanced at where she knew the
miniature was hanging upon my breast.
"Now," she continued, after a little pause, "tell me
of your world, of its history, of its languages, of what
happens there, for I long to know."
So then and there, assisted by Bickley, I began the
education of the Lady Yva. I do not suppose that there
was ever a more apt pupil in the whole earth. To begin
with, she was better acquainted with every subject on
which I touched than I was myself; all she lacked was
information as to its modern aspect. Her knowledge
ended two hundred and fifty thousand years ago, at
which date, however, it would seem that civilisation had
already touched a higher water-mark than it has ever
since attained. Thus, this vanished people understood
astronomy, natural magnetism, the force of gravity,
steam, also electricity to some subtle use of which, I
gathered, the lighting of their underground city was to
be attributed. They had mastered architecture and the
arts, as their buildings and statues showed; they could
fly through the air better than we have learned to do
within the last few years-
Yva Explains
aiz
More, they, or some of them, had learned the use of
?-w- T, Dimension, that is their most instructed
md viduals, could move tkrougk opposing things, as
well as over them, up into them and across them. This
power these possessed in a two-fold foun. I mean, that
they could either disintegrate their bodies at one spot
and cause them to integrate again at another, or they
could project what the old Egyptians called the Ka or
uouble, and modern Theosophists name the Astral
ihape, to any distance. Moreover, this Double, or
Astral Shape, while itself invisible, still, so to speak,
had the use of its senses. It could see, it could hear
and It could remember, and, on returning to the body, it
could avail itself of the experience thus acquired.
Thus, at least, said Yva, while Bickley contemplated
her with a cold and unbelieving eye. She even went
further and alleged that in certain instances, individuals
of her extinct race had been able to pass throujrh the
ether and to visit other worlds in the depths of space.
Have you ever done that?" asked Bickley.
Once or twice I dreamed that I did," she replied
quietly. '^
"We can all dream," he answered.
As it was my lot to make acquaintance with this
strange and uncanny power at a later date, I ,ui, say
no more of it now. ^
• Telepathy, she declared, was also a developed gift
among the Sons of Wisdom ; indeed, they seem to have
used It as we use wireless messages. Only, in their
case, the sending and receiving stations were skilled
and susceptible human beings who went on duty for so
man-' hours at a time. Thus intelligence was trans-
niitteu with accuracy and despatch. Those who had
this faculty were, she said, also very apt at reading
the minds of others and therefore not easy to deceive.
"Is that how you knew that I had been tryine to
analyse your Life-water?" asked Bickley.
ua'^u^'" ^^^ answered, with her unvarying smile.
At the moment I spoke thereof you were wondering
whether my father would be angry if he knew that you
212 When the World Shook
%S
had taken the water in a little flask." She studied him
for a moment, then added ; " Now you are wondering,
first, whether I did not see you take the water from
the fountain and guess the purpose, and, secondly,
whether perhaps Bastin did not tell me what you were
doing with it when we met in the sepulchre."
"Look here," said the exasperated Bickley, " I admit
that telepathy and thought-reading are possible to a
certain limited extent. But supposing that you possess
those powers, as I think in English, and you do not
know English, how can you interpret what is passing
in my mind?"
"Perhaps you have been teaching me English all
this while without knowing it, Bickley. In any case, it
matters little, seeing that what I read is the thought, not
the language with which it is clothed. The thought
comes from your mind to mine — ^that is, if I wish it,
which is not often — and I interpret it in my own or
other tongues."
" I am glad to hear it is not often. Lady Yva, since
thoughts are generally considered private.
"Yes, and therefore I will read yours no more.
Why should I, when they are so full of disbelief of all
I tell you, and sometimes of other things about myself
which I do not seek to know?"
"No wonder that, according to the story in the
pictures, those Nations, whom you named Barbarians,
made an end of your people. Lady Yva."
"You are mistaken, Bickley; the Lord Oro made an
end of the Nations, though against my prayer," she
added with a sigh.
Then Bickley departed in a rage, and did not appear
again for an hour.
" He is angry," she said, looking after him ; " nor do
I wonder. It is hard for the very clever like Bickley,
who think that they have mastered all things, to find
that after all they are quite ignorant. I am sorry for
him, and I like him much."
"Then you would be sorry for me also. Lady Yva?"
"Why?" she asked with a dazzling smile, "when
Yva Explains 213
your heart is athirst for knowledge, gaping for it like
I ^^V' """'^ 'V'^'^' «"^' «^ ilcLn^ces. though
souUhunger/^ *"'' ^ "^^ ^''^'^ something 'of yo^
.'.'Not very wise!" I repeated.
No, Humphrey. I thinV !„f Bastin, who in many
S^ Z''A r"' ""'V"' "^^^^"^ 'han I have^
M^J^^U ^h ■ A^^'^1 ^ "^ ^'^"'P' "'thout question
and its wonH Jc"'' w.°^ ""■ '""P'^ *^ ^" °f the universe
and Its wonders. What you miiiK nvagic is not maeic-
it is only gathered knowledge and the finding ouf of
secrets Bickley will tell ySu the same, ffiugh «
yet^he does not behave that the mind of man can stretch
the sjirii?'^^^" ^''^^ ^"""^ ^'^''"' ^^^ '" '* "^''^'ng of
"Yes, Humphrey, that is what I mean. I do not
even know If there is such a thing as spirit. Our g,^
was Fate; Bastm's god is a spirit, and^^I think yo^u^
"Yes."
von'r^i!!J^^°''^'^^ "^'^^ y°" ^"'1 ^«st'n to teach me of
^?/h^H' ^^^^"^^ ^Z"' '"y father. I want-oh! so
" Yo^" "^T ^^^; '° '"?'" .y;'?"*''" ^« "^^ ^fter death.'-'
=.«,„?, I exclaimed. "You who, according to the
Si V^ "'^P^ ^1' *^° ^""'*'"'' «"'» fifty thousand
Si tw"', '"'"' *'^^'' ""J"'^ ^ ""'^t^ke, liinted that
during that sleep you may have lived in other shapes !
Do TOU doubt whether we can live after death?"
Yes Sleep induced by secret arts is not death, and
durmg that sleep the / within might wander and inhabk
other shapes, because it is forbidden to be idle. More-
ZZ'h^ t^ ^® }° H "^^^^^ ""^y "«t be death, only
another form of sleep from which the / awakes again
upon the world. But at last comes the real death, when
the / IS extinguished to the world. That much I know,
because my people learned it." '
"You mean, you know that men and women may
live again and again upon the world ?"
"Yes, Humphrey, I do. For in the world there is
o
214 When the World Shook
only a certain store of life which in many forms travels
on and on, till the lot of each / is fulfilled. Then comes
the real death, and after that — what, oh I — what ? "
"You must ask Bastin," I said humbly. "I cannot
dare to teach of such matters."
" No, but you can and do believe, and that helps me,
Humphrey, who am in tune with you. Yes, it helps
me much more than do Bastin and his new religion,
because such is woman's way. Now, I think Bickley
will soon return, so let us talk of other matters. Tell
me of the history of your people, Humphrey, that my
father says are now at war."
if
S
CHAPTER XVIII
THE ACCIDENT
BiCKLEY did return, having recovered his temper, since
after all it was impossible for anyone to remain angry
with the Lady Yva for long, and we spent a very happy
time together. We instructed and she was the humble
pupil.
How swift and nimble was her intelligence I In that
one morning she learned all our alphabet and how to
write our letters. It appeared that among her people,
at any rate in their later periods, the only form of writing
that was used was a highly concentrated shorthand which
saved labour. They had no journals, since news which
arrived telepathically or by some form of wireless was
proclaimed to those who cared to listen, and on it all
formed their own judgments. In the same way poems
and even romances were repeated, as in Homer's day or
in the time of the Norse sagas, by word of mouth. None
of their secret knowledge was written down. Like the
ritual of Freemasonry it was considered too sacred.
Moreover, when men lived for hundreds of years this
was not so necessary, especially as their great fear was
lest It should fall into the hands of the outside nations,
whom they called Barbarians. For, be it remembered,
these Sons of Wisdom were always a very small people
who ruled by the weight of their intelligence and the
strength of their accumulated lore. Indeed, they could
scarcely be called a people; rather were they a few
families, all of them more or less connected with the
original ruling Dynasty which considered itself half
divine. These families were waited upon bv a multitude
of servants or slaves drawn from the subject nations,
for the most part skilled in one art or another, or per-
215
2i6 When the World Shook
'Ti
haps remarkable for their personal beauty. Still they
remained outside the pale.
The Sons of Wisdom did not intermarry with them
or teach them their learning, or even allow them to
drink of their L'.fe-water. They ruled them as men rule
dogs, treating chem with kindness, but no more, and as
many dogs run their course and die in the lifetime of
one master, so did many of these slaves in that of one
of the Sons of Wisdom. Therefore, the slaves came to
regard their lords not as men, but gods. They lived
but three score years and ten like the rest of us, and
went their way, they, whose great-great-grandfathers
had served the same master and whose great-great-
great-grandchildren would still serve him. What should
we think of a lord who we knew was already adult in the
time of William the Conqueror, and who remained still
vigorous and all-powerful in that of George V ? One,
moreover, who commanded almost inf nite knowledge to
which we were denied the key? We might tremble
before him and look upon him as half-divine, but should
we not long to kill him and possess his knowledge and
thereby prolong our own existence to his wondrous
measure ?
Such, said Yva, was the case with their slaves and
the peoples from whence these sprang. They grew mad
with jealous hate, till at length came the end we knew.
Thus we talked on for hours till the time came for us
to eat. As before Yva partook of fruit and we of such
meats as we had at hand. These, we noticed, disgusted
her, because, as she explained, the Children of Wisdom,
unless driven thereto by necessity, touched no flesh,
but lived on the fruits of the earth and wine alone.
Only the slaves and the Barbarians ate flesh. In these
views Bickley for once agreed with her, that is, except
as regards the wine, for in theory, if not in practice — he
was a vegetarian.
" I will bring you more of the Life-water," she said,
"and then you will grow to hate these dead things, as
I do. And now farewell. My father calls me. f hear
him though you do not. To-morrow I cannot come.
The Accident
217
but the day after I will come and bring you the Life-
water. Nay, accompany me not, but as I see he wishes
IS a friend m all that lonely place."
So she went, and with her Tommy, rejoicing.
Ungrateful little devil I " said, Bickley. "Here
we ve fed and petted him from puppyhood, or at least
you have, and yet he skips off with the fi^st strangS
Jor?oo^ wi& ^'""' "'' *'^' ^° ^"y "°'"«"' «-«P'
Hni'lif^"."^'" ^ ^T^'^;, "^ «=^""°' understand it.
Hullo I here comes Bastm."
Bastin it was, dishevelled and looking liiuch the
tongue. ^'^'' ^ '° ™'""' ^'^ ^'^^^ '" '^^ "«tive
Bickll^*"' ^°'^ ^^^^ ^°" ''"" ^"^'"8^ °"^" ^'d
to eat "^'^°"'*' '"'^ ^"""^ *^^' *'^° anything there is
whiS^h^iP|'^'^ ''i"' '''!.*'' ^}'^^ necessaries, and after a
while he said slowly and solemnly :
RinWW ??^' ^^^P thinking of a childish story which
?nm!^T '' •'' '"^int«l one night at your house at
whTrh L'TT^^l ^u- ^^^ ^" argument with my wife,
S„'t\n 'k P"r '"'" '" '"•"'' of 't' I am sure I
don t know why. It was about a monkey and a parrot
that were left together under a sofa for a long while
where they were so quiet that everybody forgot them'.
Then the parrot came out with only one feather left in
Its tail and none at all on its body, sayine. 'I've had
no end of a time! ' after which if dropped down and
died Do you know, I feel just like that parrot, only I
don t mean to die, and I think I gave the monkey quite
as good as he gave me ! " ^ ^
;| What happened?" I asked, intensely interested.
Oh ! the Glittering Lady tool- me into that palace
hall where Oro was sitting like a spider in a web, and
left me there. I got to work at once. He was much
interested m the Old Testament stories and said there
were points of truth about them, although they had
1^
;':i>i
'.i;!'
LI , >
I
2i8 When the World Shook
evidently come down to the modern writer— Jie called
him a modem writer— in a legendary form. I thought
his remarks impertinent and with difficulty refrained
from saying so. Leaving the story of the Deluge and
all that, 1 spoke of other matters, telling him of eternal
life and Heaven and Hell, of which the poor benighted
man had never heard. I pointed out especially that un-
less he repented, his life, by all accounts, had been so
wicked that he was certainly destined to the latter
place."
"What did he say to th^?" I asked.
"Do you know, I think it frightened him, if one
could imagine Oro being frightened. At any rate he
lemarked that the truth or falsity of what I said was an
urgent matter for him, as he could not expect to live
more than a few hundred years longer, though perhaps
he might prolong the period by another spell of sleep.
Then he asked me why I thought him so wicked. I
replied because he himself said that he had drowned
millions of people, which showed an evil heart and in-
tention even if it were not a fact. He thought a long
while and asked what could be done in the circum-
stances. I replied that repentance and reparation were
the only courses open to him."
"Reparation !" I exclaimed.
"Yes, reparation was what I said, though I think I
made a mistalie there, as you will see. As nearly as I
can remember, he answered that he was beginning to
repent, as from all he had learned from us, he gathered
that the races which had arisen as a consequence of his
action, were worse than those which he had destroyed.
As regards reparation, what he had done once he could
do again. He would think the matter over seriously,
and see if it were possible and advisable to raise those
parts of the world which had been sunk, and sink those
which had been raised. If so, he thought that would
make very handsome amends to the departed nations
and set him quite right with any superior Power, if
such a thing existed. What are you laughing at,
Bickley? I don't think it a laughing matter, since
The Accident
219
real
trying to
such remarks do not seem to me to indicate any
change in Oro's heart, which is what I was tryin
effect."
Biclcley, who was convulsed with merriment, wiped
his eyes and said :
"You dear old donkey, don't you see what you have
done, or rather would have done if there were a word of
truth in all this ridiculous story about a deluge ? You
would be in the way of making your precious pupil,
who certainly is the most masterly old liar in the worl4i
repeat his offence and send Europe to the bottom of
the sea."
"That did occur to me, but it doesn't much matter
as I am quite certain that such a thing would never be
allowed. Of course there was a real deluge once, but
Oro had no more to do with it than I had. Don't you
agree, Arbuthnot?"
"I think so," I answered cautiously, "but really in
this place I am beginning to lose count of what is or is
not possible. Also, of course, there may have been
many deluges; indeed the history of the world shows
that this was so; it is written in its geological strata.
What was the end of it ? "
"The end was that he took the South Sea Bible and,
after I had explained a little about our letters, seemed
to be able to read it at once. I suppose he was ac-
quainted with the art of printing in his youth. At any
rate he said that he would study it, I don't know how,
unless he can read, and that in two days' time he would
let me know what he thought about the matter of my
religion. Then he told me to go. I said that I did not
know the way and was afraid of losing myself. There-
upon he waved his hand, and I really can't say what
happened."
"Did you levitate up here," asked Bickley, "like the
late lamented Mr. Home at the spiritualistic stances?"
"No, I did not exactly levitate, but iiomething or
someone seemed to get a hold of me, and I was just
rushed along in a most tumultuous fashion. The next
thing I knew was that I was standing at the door of that
220 When the World Shook
sepulchre, though I have no recollection of going up in
the lift, or whatever it is. I believe those beastly caves
are full of ghosts, or devils, and the worst of it is that
they have Kept my solar-tope, which I put on this
morning forgetting that it would be useless there."
"The Lady Yva's Fourth Dimension in action," I
suggested, "only it wouldn't work on solar-topes."
"1 don't know what you are talking about," said
Bastin, "but if my hat had to be left, why not my boots
and otjier garments? Please stop your nonsense and
pass the tea. Thank goodness I haven't got to go
down there to-morrow, as he seems to have had enough
of me for the present, so I vote we all pay a visit to the
ship. It will be a very pleasant change. I couldn't
stand two days running with that old fiend, and his
ghosts or devils in the cave."
Next morning accordingly, fearing no harm from
the Orofenans, we took the canoe and rowed to the main
island. Marama had evidently seen us coming, for he
and a number of his people met us with every demon-
stration of delight, and escorted us to the ship. Here
we found things just as we had left them, for there had
been no attempt at theft or other mischief.
While we were in the cabin a fit of moral weakness
seemed to overcome Bickley, the first and I may add
the last from which I ever saw him suffer.
"Do you know," he said addressing us, "I think
that we should do well to try to get out of this place.
Eliminating a great deal of the marvellous with which
we seem to have come in touch here, it is still obvious
that we find ourselves in very peculiar and unhealthy
surroundings. I mean mentally unhealthy, indeed I
think that if we stay here much longer we shall prob-
ably go off our heads. Now that boat on the deck
remains sound and seaworthy. Why should not we
provision her and take our chance ? We know more or
less which way to steer."
Bastin and I looked at each other. It was he who
spoke first.
The Accident
23X
"Wouldn't it be rather a risky job in an open
boat?" he asked. "However, that doesn't matter much
because I don't take any account of risks, knowing that
I am of more value than a sparrow and that the hairs of
my h :ad are all numbered."
"They might be numbered under water as well as
above it," muttered Bickley, "and I feel sure that on
your own showing, you would be as valuable dead as
alive."
"What I seem to feel," went on Bastin, "is that I
have work to my hand here. Also, the locum tenens
at Fulcombe no doubt runs the parish as well as I could.
Indeed I consider him a better man for the place than
I am. That old Oro is a tough proposition, but I do
not despair of him yet, and besides him there is the
Glittering Lady, a most open-minded person, whom I
have not yet had any real opportunity of approaching
in a spiritual sense. Then there are all these natives
who cannot learn without a teacher. So on the whole I
think I would rather stay where I am until Providence
points out some other path."
"I am of the same opinion, if for somewhat different
reasons," I said. "I do not suppose that it has often
been the fortune of men to come in touch with such
things as we have fotmd upon this island. They may
be illusions, but at least they are very interesting
illusions. One might live ten lifetimes and find nothing
else of the sort. Therefore I should like to see the end
of the dream."
Btckley reflected a little, then said :
"On the whole I agree with you. Only my brain
totters and I am terribly afraid of madness. I cannot
believe what I seem to hear and see, and that way
madness lies. It is better to die than to go mad."
"You'll do that anyway when your time comes,
Bickley, I nv^an decease, of course," interrupted
Bastin. "And who knows, perhaps all this is an
opportunity given by Providence to open your eyes,
which, I must say, are singularly blind. You think
you know everything there is to learn, but the fact is
iJ
I )
322 When the World Shook
that like the rest of us, you know nothinc at all, and
good man though you are, obstinately retuse to admit
the truth and to seek support elsewhere. For my part I
Itelieve that you are afraid of falling in love with that
Glittering Lady and of being convinced by her that you
are wrong in your most unsatisfactory conclusions.'
"I am out-voted anyway," said Bickley, "and for
the rest, Bastin, look after yourself and leave me alone.
I will add that on the whole I think you are both right,
and that it is wisest for us to stop where we are, for
after all we can only die once."
"I am not so sure, Bickley. There is a thing called
the second death, which is what is troubling tnat old
scoundrel, Oro. Now I will go and look for those
books."
So the idea of flight was abandoned, although I
admit that even to myself it had attractions. For I
felt tliat I was being wrapped in a net of mysteries from
which I saw no escape. Yes, and of nore than
mvsteries; I who had swoi.' ihat I would never look
upon another woman, was learning to love this sweet
and wondrous Yva, and of that what could be the end ?
We collected all we had come to seek, and started
homewards escorted by Marama and his people, in-
cluding a number of young women who danced before
us in a light array of flowers.
Passing our old house, we came to the grove where
the idol Oro had stood and Bastin was so nearly
sacrificed. There was another idol there now which he
wished to examine, but in the end did not as the natives
so obviously objected. Indeed Marama told me that
notwithstanding the mysterious death of the sorcerers
on the Rock of Offerings, there was still a strong party
in the island who would be glad to do us a inischief if
any further affront were offered to their hereditary god.
He questioned us also tentatively about the appari-
tion, for such he conceived it to be, which had appeared
upon the rock and killed the sorcerers, and I answered
him as I thought wisest, telling him that a terrible
The Accident
223
Power was afoot in the land, which he would do well
to obey. , .
"Yes," he said; "t.ie God of the Mountain of whom
the tradition has come down to us from our forefathers.
He is awake again ; he sees, he hears and we are afraid.
Plead with him for us, O Friend-from-the-Sea."
As he spoke we were passing through a little patch
of thick bush. Suddenly from out of tnis bush, I saw
a lad appear. He wore a mask upon his face, but from
his shape could not have been more than thirteen or
fourteen years of age. In his hand was a wooden club.
He ran forward, stopped, and with a yell of hate hurled
it, I think at Bastin, but it hit me. At any rate 1 felt a
shock and remembered no more.
Dreams. Dreams. Endless dreams! What were
they all about ? 1 do not know. It seemed to me that
through them continually I saw the stately figure of
old Oro contemplating me gravely, as though he were
making up his mind about something in which I must
play a part. Then there was another figure, that of the
gracious but imperial Yva, who from time to time, as I
thought, leant over me and whisi)ered in my ear words
of rest and comfort. Nor was this all, since her shape
had a way of changing suddenly into that of my lost
wife who would speak with her voice. Or perhaps my
wife would speak with Yva's voice. To my disordered
sense it was as though they were one personality,
having two shapes, either of which could be assumed
at will. It was most strange and yet to me most blessed,
since in the living I seemed to have found the dead, and
in the dead the living. More, I took journeys, or rather
some unknown part of me seemed to do so. One of
these I remember, for its majestic character stamped
itself upon my mind in such a fashion that all the
waters of delirium could not wash it out nor all its
winds blow away that memory.
I was travelling through space with Yva a thousand
times faster than light can flash. We passed sun after
sun. They drew near, they grew into enormous, flam-
Ill
K^MirK'''
ii
m;
224 When the World Shook
ing Glories round which circled world upon world,
l.hey became small, dwindled to points of light and
disappeared. » «
We found footing upon some far land and passed a
marvellous white city wherein were buildinn with
domes of crystal and alabaster, in the latter of which
were set windows made of great jewels; sapphires or
rubies they seemed to me. We went on up a lovely
,l\,^° ^^^ '^^' ^""^ »i'"s. down which tumbled
waterfalls; to the right was a river broad and deep that
seemed to overflow its banks as does the Nile. Behind
were high mountains on the slopes of which jrrew
forests of glorious trees, soir.e of them aflame with
bloom, while far away up their crests stood colossal
golden statues set wide apart. They looked like
guardian angels watching that city and that vale. The
land was ht with a light such as that of the moon, only
intensified and of many colours. Indeed looking up. I
saw that above us floated three moons, each of them
bigger than our own at the full, and gathered that
here it was night.
We came to a house set amid scented gardens and
having in front of it terraces of flowers. It seemed not
unlike my own house at home, but I took little note of
It, because of a woman who sat upon the verandah, if I
may call it so. She was clad in garments of white silk
fastened about her middle with a jewelled girdle On
her neck also was a collar of jewels. I forget the colour ;
indeed this seemed to change continually as the light
from the different moons struck when she moved, but I
think Its prevailing tinge was blue. In her arms this
woman nursed a beauteous, sleeping child, singing
happily as she rocked it to and fro. Yva went tow^
the woman who looked up at her step and uttered a
little cry. Then for the first time I saw the woman's
face. It was that of my dead wife !
As I followed in my dream, a little cloud of mist
seemed to cover both my wife and Yva, and when I
reached the place Yva was gone. Only my wife re-
mained, she and the child. There she stood, solemn
The Accident
235
and sweet. While I drcH' near she laid down tho child
upon the cushioned seat from which she had risen.
She stretched out her arms and flung them about mc.
She embraced me and I embraced her in a rapture of
reunion. Then turning she lifted up the child, it was
a girl, for me to kiss.
"See vour daughter," she said, "and behold all that
I am maKing ready for you where we shall dwell in a
day to come?'
I grew confused.
"Yva," I said. "Where is Yva who brought me
here? Did she go into the house?"
"Yes," she answered happily. "Yva went into the
house. Look again ! "
I looked and it was Yva's face that was pressed
against my own, and Yva's eyes that gazed into mine.
Only she was garbed as my wife had been, and on her
bosom hung the changeful necklace.
"You may not stay," she whispered, and lo! it was
my wife that spoke, not Yva.
"Tell me what it means?" I implored.
"I cannot," she answered. "There are mysteries
that you may not know as yet. Love Yva if you will
and I shall not be jealous, for in loving Yva you love
me. You cannot understand? Then Know this, that
the spirit has many shapes, and yet is the same spirit—
sometinc"" V' •" I who am far, yet near, bid you
farewell ;. u' i . '
Then ail ^as^td in a flash and the dream ended.
Such was the only one of those visions which I can
recall.
I seemed to wake up as from a long and tumultuous
sleep. The first thing I saw was the palm roof of our
house upon the rock. I knew it was our house, for just
above me was a palm leaf of which I had myself tied
the stalk to the framework with a bit of coloured ribbon
that I had chanced to find in my pocket. It came
originally from the programme card of a dance that I
had attended at Honolulu and I had kept it because I
;M
Pin
226 When the World Shook
thought it mieht be useful. Finally I used ii. to secure
that loose leaf. I stared at the ribbon which brought
back a flood of memories, and as I was thus engaged I
heard voices ulking, and listened— Bickley's voice, and
the Lady Yva's.
"Yes," Bickley was saying, "he will do well now,
but he went near, very near."
"I knew he would not die," she answered, "because
my father said so."
"There are two sorts of death," replied Bickley,
"that of tiie body and that of the mind. I was afraid
that even if he lived, his reason would go, but from
certain indications I do not think that will happen now.
He will get quite well again— though " and he
stopped.
"I am very glad to hear you say so," chimed in
Bastin. "For weeks I thought that I should have to
read the Burial Service over poor Arbuthnot. Indeed I
was much puzzled as to the best place to bury him. Fin-
ally I found a very suitable spot round the corner there,
where it isn't rock, in which one can't dig and the soil is
not liable to be flooded. In fact I went so far as to clear
away the bush and to mark out the grave with its foot
to the east. In this climate one can't delay, you know."
Weak as I was, I smiled. This practical proceeding
was so exactly like Bastin.
"Well, you wasted your labour," exclaimed Bickley.
"Yes, I am glad to say I did. But I don't think it
was your operations and the rest that cured him,
Bickley, although you take all the credit. I be.ieve it
was the Life-water that the Lady Yva made him drink
and the stuff that Oro sent which we gave him when you
weren't looking."
"Then I hope that in the future you will not inter-
fere with my cases," said the indignant Bickley, and
either the voices passed away or I went to sleep.
When I woke up again it was to find the Lady Yva
seated at my side watching me.
"Forgive me, Humphrey, because I here; others
gone out walking," she said slowly in English.
The Accident
227
:■>]
"Who taught you my language?" I asked
astonished.
" Bastin and Bickley, while you ill, they teach ; they
teach me much. Man just same now as he was hundred
thousand y^^rs ago," she added en-^matically. "All
think one v. nan beautiful when no other woman there."
"Indeed," I replied, wondering to what proceedings
on the part of Bastin and Bickley she alluded. CouU
that self-centred pair — oh ! it was impossible.
" How long have I been ill ? " I asked to escape the
subject which I felt to be uncomfortable.
She lifted her beautiful eyes in search of words and
began to count upon her fingers.
"Two moon, one half moon, yes, ten week, counting
Sabbath," she answered triumphantly.
"Ten weeks 1 " I exclaimed.
"Yes, Humphrey, ten whole weeks and three days
you first bad, then mad. Oh I " she went on, breaking
into the Orofenan tongue which she spoke so perfectly,
although it was not her own. That language of hers I
never learned, but I know she thought in it and only
translated into Orofenan, because of the great difficulty
which she had in rendering her high and refined ideas
into its simpler metaphor, and the strange words which
often she introducecf. " Oh I you have been very ill,
friend of my heart. At times I thought that you were
foing to die, and wept and wept. Bickley thinks that
e saved you and he is very clever. But he could not
have saved you ; that wanted more knowledge than any
of your people have ; only I pray you, do not tell him so
because it would hurt his pride."
"What was the matter with me then, Yva?"
"All was the matter. First, the weapon which that
youth threw — ^he was the son of the sorcerer whom my
father destroyed — crushed in the bone of your head.
He is dead for his crime and may he be accursed for
ever," she added in the only outbreak of rage and vin-
dictiveness in which I ever saw her indulge.
"One must make excuses for himj his father had
been killed," I said.
228 When the World Shook
" Yes, that is what Bastin tells me, and it is true.
Still, for that young man I can make no excuse ; it was
cowardly and wicked. Well, Bickley performed what
he calls operation, and the Lord Oro, he came up from
his house and helped him, because Bastin is no good in
such things. Then he can only turn away his head and
pray. I, too, helped, holding hot water and linen and
jar of the stuff that made you feel like nothing, although
the sight made me feel more sick than anything since
I saw one I loved killed, oh, long, long ago."
"Was the operation successful?" I asked, for I did
not dare to begin to thank her.
"Yes, that clever man, Bickley, lifted the bone
which had been crushed in. Only then something
broke in your head and you began to bleed here," and
she touched what I believe is called the temporal artery.
"The vein had been crushed by the blow, and gave
way. Bickley worked and worked, and just in time he
tied it up before you died. Oh 1 then I felt as though I
loved Bickley, though afterwards Bastin said that I
ought to have loved him, since it was not Bickley who
stopped the bleeding, but his prayer."
"Perhaps it was both," 1 suggested.
"Perhaps, Humphrey, at least you were saved.
Then came another trouble. You took fever. Bickley
said that it was because a certain gnat had bitten you
when you went down to the ship, and my father, the
Lord Oro, told me that this was right. At the least
you grew very weak and lost your mind, and it seemed
as though you must die. Then, Humphrey, I went to
the Lord Oro and kneeled before him and prayed your
life, for I knew that he could cure you if he would,
though Bickley's skill was at an end.
"'Daughter,' he said to me, 'not once but again
and again you have set up your will against mine in
the past. Why then should I trouble myself to grant
this desire of yours in the present, and save a man who
is nothing to me.*
" I rose to my feet and answered, ' I do not know,
my Father, yet I am certain that for your own sake it
The Accident
229
will be well to do so. I am sure that of everything even
you must give an account at last, great though you be,
and who knows, perhaps one life which you nave saved
may turn the balance in your favour.'
'" Surely the priest Bastin has been talking to you,'
he said.
"'He has,' I answered, 'and not he alone. Many
voices have been talking to me.' "
" What did you mean by that ? " I asked. ,
"It matters nothing what 1 meant, Humphrey. Be
still and listen to my story. My father thought a while
and answered :
" ' I am jealous of this stranger. What is he but a
short-lived half-barbarian such as we knew in the old
days? And yet already you think more of him than
you do of me, your father, the divine Oro who has lived
a thousand years. At first I helped that physician to
save him, but now I think I wish him dead.'
'" If you let this man die, my Father,* I answered,
'then we part. Remember that I also have of the
wisdom of our people, and can use it if I will.'
"'Then save him yourself,' he said.
" ' Perhaps I shall, my Father,' I answered, ' but if so
it will not be here. I say that if so we part and you
shall be left to rule in your majesty alone.'
"Now this frightened the Lord Ore, for he has the
Tveakness that he hates to be alone.
" ' If I do what you will, do you swear never to leave
me, Yva? ' he asked. ' Know that if you will not
s\/ear, the man dies.'
"' I swear,' I answered— for your sake, Humphrey—
though I did not love the oath.
"Then he gave me a certain medicine to mix with
the Life-water, and when you were almost gone that
medicine cured you, though Bickley does not know it,
as nothing else could have done. Now I have told you
the truth, for your own ear only, Humphrey."
"Yva," I asked, "why did you do all this for me?"
"Humphrey, I do not know," she answered, "but I
think because I must. Now sleep a while."
p
CHAPTER XIX
THE PROPOSALS OF BASTIN AND BICKLEY
So far as my body was concerned I grew well with
great rapidity, though it was long before I got back my
strength. Thus I could not walk far or endure any
sustained exertion. With my mind it was otherwise.
I cannot explain what had happened to it; indeed I do
not know, but in a sense it seemed to have become
detached and to have assumed a kind of personality of
its own. At times it felt as though it were no longer an
inhabitant o" the body, but rather its more or less in-
dependent n, tner. I was perfectly clear-headed and
of insanity 1 experienced no symptoms. Yet my mind,
I use that term for lack of a better, was not entirely
under my control. For one thing, at night it appeared
to wander far away, though whither it went and what
it saw there I could never remember.
I record this because possibly it explains certain
mysterious events, if they were events and not drewns,
which shortly I must set out. I spoke to Bickley about
the matter. He put it by lightly, saying that it was
only a result of my long and most severe illness and
that I should steady down in time, especially if we
could escape from that island and its unnatural atmos-
phere. Yet as he spoke he glanced at me shrewdly with
his quick eyes, and when he turned to go away I heard
him mutter something to himself about "unholy in-
fluences" and "that confounded old Oro."
The words were spoken to himself and quite beneath
his breath, and of course not meant to reach me. But
one of the curious concomitants of my state was that all
my senses, and especially my hearing, had become
most abnormally acute. A whisper far away was now
to me like a loud remark made in a room.
230
Proposals of Bastin and Bickley 231
Bickley's reflection, for I can scarcely call it more
set me thinking. Yva had said that Oro sent m4
medicme which was administered to me without Bick-
ley s knowledge, and, as she believed, saved my life, or
certamly my reason. What was in it? I wondered.
1 hen tiiere was that Life-water which Yva brought and
insisted upon my drinking every day. Undoubtedly it
was a marvellous tonic and did me good. But it had
other effects also. Thus, as she said would be the case,
after a course of it I conceived the greatest dislike
which I may add has never entirely left me, of any form
of meat, also of alcohol. All I seemed to want was this
water with fruit, or such native vegetables as there were.
Bickley disapproved and made me eat fish occasionally,
but even this revolted me, and since I gained steadily
in weight, as we found out by a simple contrivance, and
remained healthy in every other way, soon he allowed
me to clioose my own diet.
About this time Oro began to pay me frequent visits.
He always came at night, and vhat is more I knew when
he was coming, although he never gave me warning.
Here I should explain that during my illness Bastin,
who was so ingenious in such matters, had built another
hut in which he and Bickley slept, of course when they
were not watching me, leaving our old bed-chamber to
myself.
Well, I would wake up and be aware that Oro was
coming. Then he appeared in a silent and mysterious
way, as though he had materialised in the room, for I
never saw him pass the doorway. In the moonlight, or
the starlight, which flowed through the entrance and
the side of the hut that was only enclosed with lattice-
work, I perceived him seat himself upon a certain stool,
looking like a most majestic ghost with his flowing
robes, long white beard, hooked nose and hawk eyes.
In the day-time he much resembled the late General
Booth whom I had often seen, excrpt for certain added
qualities of height and classic beauty of countenance.
At night, however, he resembled no one but himself;
indeed there was something mighty and godlike in his
W
232 When the World Shook
His m li
appearance, something that made one feel that be was
not as are other men.
For a while he would sit and look at me. Then be
began to speak in a low, vibrant voice. What did he
speak of ? Well, many matters. It was as though be
were unburdening that hoary soul of his because it
could no longer endure the grandeur of its own loneli-
ness. Amongst sundry secret things, he told me of the
past history of this world of ours, and of the mighty
civilisations which for uncounted ages he and his fore-
fathers had ruled by the strength of their will and know-
ledge, of the dwindling of their race and of the final
destruction of its enemies, althc jgh I noticed that now he
no longer said that this was his work alone. One night
I asked him if he did not miss all such pomp and power.
Then suddenly he broke out, and for the first time
I really learned what ambition can be when it utterly
possesses the soul of man.
"Are you mad," he asked, "that you suppose that I,
Oro, the King of kings, can be content to dwell solitary
in a great cave with none but the shadows of the dead
to serve me? Nay, I must rule again and be even
greater than before, or else I too will die. Better to
face the future, even if it means oblivion, than to remain
thus a relic of a glorious past, still living and yet dead,
like that statue of the great god Fate which you saw in
the temple of my worship."
"Bastin does not think that the future means
oblivion," I remarked.
"I know it. I have studied his faith and find it too
humble for my taste, also too new. Shall I, Oro, creep
a suppliant before any Power, and confess what Bastin
is pleased to call my sins ? Nay, I who am great will
be the equal of all greatness, or nothing."
He paused a while, then went on :
"Bastin speaks of ' eternity.' Where and what then
is this eternity which if it has no end can have had no
beginning? I know the secret of the suns and their
attendant worlds, and they are no more eternal than
the insect which glitters for an hour. Out of shapeless.
Proposals of Bastin and Bickley 233
rushing eases they gathered to live their day, and into
gases at last they dissolve again with all they bore."
Yes, I answered, "but they re-form into new
worlds."
"That have no part with the old. This world, too,
shall melt, departing to whence it came, as yoi-r sacred
writings say, and what then of those who dwelt and
dwell thereon? No, Man of to-day, give me Time in
which I rule and keep your dreams of an Eternity that
IS not, and in which you must still crawl and serve,
even if it were. Yet if I might, I confess it, I would
live on for ever, but as Master not as Slave."
On another night he began to tempt me, very subtly.
I see a spark of greatness in you, Humphrey," he
said, and it comes into my heart that you, too, mieht
ftarn to rule. With Yva, the last of my blood, it is
otherwise. She is the child of my age and of a race out-
worn ; too gentle, too much all womanly. The soul that
triumphs must shine like steel in the sun, and cut if
need be; not merely be beauteous and shed perfume like
a lily m the shade. Yet she is very wise and fair," here
he looked at me, "perchance of her might come children
such as were their forefathers, who again would wield
the sceptre of the dominion of the earth."
I made no answer, wondering what he meant exactly
and thinking it wisest to be silent.
"You are of the short-lived races," he went on, "yet
very much a man, not without intelligence, and by the
arts I have I can so strengthen your frame that it will
endure the shocks of time for three such lives as yours,
or perchance for more, and then "
Again he paused and went on :
"The Daughter of kings likes you also, perhaps
bee .use you resemble " here he fixed me with his
piercing eyes, "a certain kinglet of base blood whom
once she also liked, but whom it was my duty to destroy.
Well, I must think. I must study this world of yours
also and therein you may help me. Perhaps afterwards
I will tell you how. Now sleep."
<1
;;, I,
IS.
234 When the World Shook
In another moment he was gone, but notwithstand-
ing his powerful command, for a while I could not
sleep. I understood that he was o£Fering Yva to me,
but upon what terms? That was the question. With
her was to go great dominion over the kingdoms of the
earth. I could not help remembering that always this
has been and still is Satan's favourite bait. To me it
did not particularly appeal. I had been ambitious in
my time — who is not that is worth his salt? I couid
have wished to excel in sonicthing, literature or art, or
whatever it might be, and thus to ensure the memory of
my name in the world.
Of course this is a most futile desire, seeing that soon
or late every name must fade out of the world like an
unfixed photograph which is exposed to the sun. Even
if it could endure, as the old demi-god, or demi-devil,
Oro, had pointed out, very shortly, by comparison with
Time's unmeasured vastness, the whole solar system
will also fade. So of what use is this feeble love of fame
and this vain attempt to be remembered that animates
us so strc ifly? Moreover, the idea of enjoying mere
temporal as> opposed to intellectual power, appealed to
me not at all. I am a student of history and I know
what has been the lot of kings and the evil that, often
enough, they work in their little day.
Also if I needed any further example, there was that
of Oro himself. He had outlived the greatness of his
House, as a royal family is called, and after some
gigantic murder, if his own story was to be believed,
indulged in a prolonged sleep. Now he awoke to find
himself quite alone in the world, save for a daughter
with whom he did not agree or sympathise. In short,
he was but a kind of animated mummy inspired by one
idea which I felt quite sure would be disappomted,
namely, to renew his former greatness. To me he
seemed as miserable a figure as one could imagine,
brooding and plotting in his illuminated cave, at the
end of an extended but mis-spent life.
Also I wondered what he, or rather his ego, had
been doing during all those two hundred and fifty thou-
Proposals of Bastin and Biokley 235
sand years of sleep. Possibly if Yva's theory, as I
understood it, -were correct, he had re>incarnated as
Attila, or Tamerlane, or Napoleon, or even as Chaka
the terrible Zulu king. At any rate there he was still
in the world, filled with the dread of death, but con-
sumed now as ever by his insatiable and most useless
finite ambitions.
Yva, also I Her case was his, but yet how different.
In all this long night of Time she had but ripened into
one of the sweetest and most gentle women that ever
the world bore. She, too, was great in her way, it ap-
peared in her every word and gesture, but where was
the ferocity of her father? Where his desire to reach
to splendour by treading on a blood-stained road paved
with broken human hearts? It did not exist. Her
nature was different although her body came of a long
line of these power-loving kings. Why this profound
difference of the spirit ? Like everything else it was a
mystery. The two were as far apart as the Poles.
Everyone must have hated Oro, from the beginning,
however much he feared him, but everyone who came m
touch with her must have loved Yva.
Here I may break into my personal narrative to say
that this, by their own confessions, proved to be true of
two such various persons as Bastin and Bickley.
"The truth, which I am sure it would be wrong to
hide from you, Arbuthnot," said the former to me one
day, " is that during your long illness I fell in love, I
suppose that is the right word, with the Glittering Lady.
After thinking the matter over also, I conceived that it
would be proper to tell her so if only to clear the air and
prevent future misunderstandings. As I remarked to
her on that occasion, I had hesitated long, -as I was not
certain how she would fill the place of the wife of the
incumbent of an English parish."
"Mothers' Meetings and the rest," I suggested.
" Exactly so, Arbuthnot. Also there were the views
of the Bishop to be considered, who might have ob-
jected to the introduction into the diocese of a striking
:./;J
236 When the World Shook
person who ao recently had been a heathen, and to one
in such strong contrast to my late beloved wife."
"I suppose vou didn't consider the late Mrs. Bas-
ttn's views on the subiect of re-nuirriage. I remember
that they were strone/' I remarked rather maliciously.
"No, I did not tnink it necessary, since the Scrip-
tural instructions on the matter are very clear, and in
another world no doubt all jealousies, even Sarah's,
will be obliterated. Upon tnat point my conscience
was quite easy. So when I found that, unlike her parent,
the Lady Yva was much inclined to accept the prin-
ciples of the faith in which it is my privilege to instruct
her, I thought it proper to say to her that if ultimately
she made up her mind to do so— of course this was a
sine qua non — I should be much honoured, and as a
man, not as a priest, it would make me most happ;^ if she
would take me as a husband. Of course I explained to
her that I considered, under the circumstances, I coutd
quite lawfully perform the marriage ceremony myself
with you and Bickley as witnesses, even should Ore
refuse to give her away. Also I told her that although
after her varied experiences in the past, life at Ful-
combe, if we could ever get there, might be a little mono-
tonous, still it would not be entirely devoid of interest."
"You mean Christmas decorations and that sort
of thing?"
"Yes, and choir treats and entertaining Deputations
and attending other Church activities."
"Well, and what did .she say, Bastin ?"
"Oh I she was most kind and flattering. Indeed
that hour will always remain the pleasantest of my life.
I don't know how it happe jd, but when it was over 1
felt quite delighted that she >iad refused me. Indeed on
second thoughts, I am not certain but that I shall be
much happier in the capacities of a brother and teacher
which she asked me to fill, than I should have been as
her husband. To tell you the truth, Arbuthnot, there
are moments when I am not sure whether I entirely
understand the Lady Yva. It was rather like proposing
to one's guardian angel."
Proposals of Bastin and Bickley 237
"Yes," I said, "that's about it, old fellow. ' Guardian
Angel ' is not a bad name for her."
Afterwards I received the confidence of Bickley.
"Look here, Arbuthnot," he said. "I want to own
up to something. I think I ought to, because of certain
things I have observed, in order to prevent possible
future misunderstandings."
"What's that?" I asked innocently.
"Only this. As you know, I have always been a
confirmed bachelor on principle. Women introduce
too many complications into life, and although it in-
volves some sacrifice, on the whole, I have thought it
best to do without them and leave the carrying on of
the world to others."
"Well, what of it? Your views are not singular.
Bickley." " '
"Only thir. While you were ill the sweetness of
that Lady Yva and her wonderful qualities as a nurse
overcame me. I went to pieces all of a sudden. I saw
in her a realisation df every ideal I had ever entertained
of perfect womanhood. So to speak, my resolves of a
lifetime melted like wax in the sun. Notwithstanding
her queer history and the marvels with which she is
mixed up, I wished to marry her. No doubt her physical
loveliness was at the bottom of it, but, however that
may be, there it was."
"She is beautiful," I commented; "though I daresay
older than she looks."
"That is a point on which I made no inquiries, and
I should advise you, when your turn comes, as no doubt
it will, to follow my example. You know, Arbuthnot,"
he mused, " however lovely a woman may be, it would
put one off if suddenly she announced that she was—
let us say-^ hundred and fifty years old."
"Yes," I admitted, "for nobody wants to marry
the contemporary of his great-grandmother. However,
she gave her age as twenty-seven years and three
moons."
"And doubtless for once did not tell the truth. But,
as she does not look more than twenty-five, I think that
338 When the World Shook
we may a]| agree to let it stand at that, namely, twenty-
seven, plus an indefinite period of sleep. At any rate
she js a sweet and moat gracious woman, apparently in
the bloom of youth, and, to cut it short, I fell in love
with her."
"Like Bastin," I said.
"Baatinl" exclaimed Bickley indignantl,^ "You
don't mean to say that clerical oii presumed— well, well,
after all, I suppose that he is a man, :.i> one mustn't be
hard on him. But who cculd have thought that he
would run so cunning, even when he knew my senti-
ments towards the lady? I hope she told him her
mind."
"The point is, v. M did she tell you, Bickley?"
"Me? Oh, she was oerfectly charming! it really
wis a plcsur" to be refused by her, she puts one so
thorougrhly a*, one's ease." (Here, remembering Bastin
and his story, I turned away my face to hide a smile.)
"She said — ^what did she say exactly? Such a lot that
it is difficult to remember. Oh I that she was not think-
ing of marriage. Also, that she had not yet recovered
from some recent love affair which left her heart sore,
since the time of her sl?ep did not count. Also, that
her father would never consent, and that the mere Idea
of such a thing would excite his animosity against all
of us."
"Is that all?" I asked.
"Not quite. She added that she felt wonderfully
flattered and extremely honoured by what I had been so
good as to say to her. She hoped, however, that I
should never repeat It or even allude to the matter again,
as her dearest wish was to be able to look upon me as
her most intimate friend to whom she could always come
for sympathy and counsel."
"What happened then ?"
"Nothing, of course, except that I promised every-
thing that she wished, and mean to stick to it, too.
Naturally, I was very sore and upset, but I am getting
over it, having always practised self-control."
" I am sorry for you, old fellow."
Proposals of Bastin and Bickley 239
" Are you 7 " he asked •uspiciously . " Then perhaps
you have tried your luck, too?" ^ i~
"No, Bickley,'
His face fell a little at this denial, and he answered :
"Well, it would have been scarcely decent if you
had, seeing how lately you were tnarried. But then, so
was that artful Bastin. Perhaps you will get over it-
recent marriage, I mean— as he has." He hesitated a
while, then went on : "Of course you will, old fellow;
I know it, and, what is m->re, I seem to know that when
your turn comes you will Mt a different answer. If so.
It will keep her in the family as it were— and arood luck
to you. Only "
"Only what?" I asked anxiously.
"To be honest, Arbuthnot, I don't think that there
will be real good luck for any one of us over this woman
— not in the ordinary sense, I mean. The whole busi-
ness is too strange and superhuman. Is she quite a
woman, and could she really marry a man as others
"It is curious that you should talk like that," I said
uneasily. " I thoupfht that you had made up your mind
that the whole busmess was either illusion or trickery —
I mean, the odd side of it."
"If it is illusion, Arbuthnot, then a man cannot
marry an illusion. And if it is trickery, then he will
certainly be tricked. But, supposing that I am wrong,
what then ? "
"you mean, supposing things are as they seem to
"Yes. In that event, Arbuthnot, I am sure that
something will occur to prevent your being united to a
woman who lived thousands of years ago. I am sorry
to say it, but Fate will intervene. Remember, it is the
god of her people that I suppow she worships, and, I
may add, to which the whole world bows."
At his words a kind of chill fell upon me. I think
he saw or divined it, for after a few remarlu upon some
indifferent matter, he turned and went away.
Shortly after this Yva can» to sit with me. She
i
i
C':/
240 When the World Shook
studied me for a while and I studied her. I had reason
to do so, for I observed that of late her dress had
become much more modern, and on the present occasion
this struck me forcibly. I do not know exactly m what
the change, or changes, consisted, because I anr. not
skilled in such matters and can only judge of a woman s
garments by their general effect. At any rate, the gor-
geous sweeping robes were gone, and though her attire
still looked foreign and somewhat oriental, with a touch
of barbaric splendour about it— it was simpler than it
had been and showed more of her figure, which was
delicate, yet gracious. r -j .. t -j
"You have changed your robes, Lady, 1 said.
"Yes, Humphrey. Bastin gave me pictures of those
your women wear." (On further investigation I found
that this referred to an old copy of the Queen newspaper,
which, somehow or other, had been brought with the
books from the ship.) "I have tried to copy them a
little," she added doubtfully.
"How do you do it? Where do you get the
material?" I asked. , , ^ u j
"Oh ! " she answered with an airy wave of her nana,
"I make it— it is there."
"I don't understand," I said, but she only smiled
radiantly, offering no further explanation. Then, before
I could pursue the subject, she asked me suddenly :
"What has Bickley been saying to you about
me? "
I fenced, answering: "I don't know. Bastin and
Bickley talk of little else. You seem to have been a
ereat deal with them while I was ill."
"Yes, a great deal. They are the nearest to you
who were so sick. Is it not so?"
"I don't know," I answered again. "In my illness
it seemed to me that you were the nearest."
"About Bastin's words I can guess, she went on.
"But 1 ask again— what has Bickley been saying to you
about me? Of the first part, let it be; tell me the
i intended to evade her question, but she fixed those
Proposals of Bastin and Bickley 241
Swer.''*""^"'"^ '^** "P°" ™^ ^"** ^ ^^ obliged to
„r. "^ i^l'^^^ ^°H l^ow as well as I do," I said: "but if
you will have it, it was that you are no as other humVn
mZ\" T' \"^ '^ ^' ^^° would treaT^ou as "ST
must suffer; that was the gist of it." '
"Some might be content to suffer for such as I " she
answered witB quiet sweetness. "Even BaTtin and
B^ep. may be content to suffer in their own IkS
angriTy°"forTfelt^hi"K* ^^^' l""^^'" ^ i"te"upted
angrily, for I felt that she was throwing reflections on
I am^^t' ^^"J ""^^"^ ^^^^ y°" ^Sretd with Bickley that
I am not quite a woman, as you know women."
I was silent, for her words were true.
noor^nit*''"* ^^^ I am not as your women are-your
ffi/ll *""^"' J''/ ^^"'^o^s °f an hour with night
behind them and before. Because I am humble Sid
Man "Irot Z Uuf°'' ^"^^^^^ '"^^^ Tarn' not gr^?
wKiL.K ,f '*"'* country across the sea, I lived
woriHs oIH T^K-T»u^''%*Hl y°"'S' a"*! when the
world IS old I think that I still shall live, though not
in this shape or here, with all that wisdom's essenS
burning in my breast, and with all beaulf h^ mvTy^
on y half believe and do not worship, because memory
k^Lw ^fZ^^uV'''^^ -"y^^" ^° "O^ understand. l3
know though knowing so much, still I seek roads to
mfv"uf4 '^'". *''" ''r""« "^^J <=a"«d Bastin. that yS
may lead my feet to the gate of an immortol city." ^
said Slv° /nr "i"'i^"1 *l°^ f ^'« *=an be, Vva," I
MS ^f Xer '"' ^"^ over,vhe!med me with
"No, you do not understand. How can you, when
« !
242 When the World Shook
even I cannot ? Thus for two hundred and fifty thousand
years I slept, and they went by as a lightning flash.
One moment my father gave me the draught and I laid
me down, the next I awoke with you bending over me,
or so it seemed. Yet where was I through all those
centuries when for me time had ceased? Tell me,
Humphrey, did you dream at all while you were ill ? I
ask because down in that lonely cavern where I sleep a
strange dream came to me one night. It was of a
journey which, as I thought, you and I seemed to make
together, past suns and universes to a very distant
earth. It meant nothing, Humphrey. If you and I
chanced to have dreamed the same thing, it was only
because my dream travelled to you. It is most common,
or used to be. Humphrey, Bickley is quite right, I am
not altogether as your women are, and I can bring no
happiness to any man, or at the least, to one who cannot
wait. Therefore, perhaps you would do well to think
less of me, as I have counselled Bastin and Bickley."
Then again she eazed at me with her wonderful,
great eyes, and, shading her glittering head a little,
smiled and went.
But oh ! that smile drew my heart after her.
CHAPTER XX
ORO AND ARBUTHNOT TRAVEL BY NIGHT
iic4ucnuy, tin at last scarcely a nieht went hv that t,»
did not appear mysteriously i?. mv sfeepTng^Sce *Thl
odd thing was that neither Bickiey nor ffaS^ s'pp,;^
tnrnA!! ?J,^ '^^^'^'ng ?J?a'n of the matter, Bickiey at once
turned the conversation, from which I eathweLhat he
But Oro was nntT. »vf u • " /ema'ned unbroken,
oui wro was not to be caught in that wav. I sutmoo*
as It was impossible for him to pass through the ffi^
tTrSdlnd^r J'^'' °^ ^' hLse,TX Jndfd d,^
Sr^BlSl^n^aar^^^raSeri^^^^ 'oTth^
irgSl;;fsJcro?o"^iv?r'?;^^^^^^ ^"""^ "^^ ^'^ p-
™.J~^*"^ "i*^' ^^ *^'"^' o"" seemed to come, and
pumped me-I can use no other word-most ener^rti
^]l^}u ''^'^i"*^ conditions in the woridfeSnv
343
■ :i
t-)
^
244 When the World Shook
in art, science and literature, their martial capacities,
tiieir laws, and I know not what besides.
I told him all I could, but did not in the least seem
to satisfy his perennial thirst for information.
" I should prefer to jud^e for myself," he said at last.
"Why are vou so anxious to learn about all these
nations, Oro ? I asked, exhausted.
"Because the knowledge I gather may affect my
plans for the future," he replied darkly.
" I am told, Oro, that your people acquired the power
of transporting themselves from place to place."
" It is true that the lords of the Sons of Wisdom had
such power, and that I have it still, O Humphrey."
"Then why do you not go to look with your own
eyes?" I suggested.
" Because I should need a guide ; one who could ex-
plain much in a short time," he said, contemplating me
with his burning glance until I began to feel uncomfort-
able.
To change the subject 1 asked him whether he had
any further information about the war, which he had
told me was raging in Europe.
He answered: "Not much; only that it was going
on with varying success, and would continue to do so
until the nations involved therein were exhausted," or
so he believed. The war did not seem greatly to interest
Oro. It was, he remarked, but a small affair compared
to those which he had known in th' old days. Then he
departed, and I went to sleep.
Next night he appeared again, and, after talking a
little on different subjects, remarked quietly that he had
been thinking over what T had said as to his visiting
the modern world, and intended to act upon the sugges-
tion.
"When?" I asked.
"Now," he said. "I am going to visit this England
of yours and the town yow call London, and you will
accompany me."
"It is not possible 1" 1 exclaimed. "We have no
ship."
Oro and Arbuthnot Travel 245
present w^sSe P""'"" '*'*" ^ s^-^"" '" "y
and'atgueTa^SisSt^ .- °"f -"o always doubts
shall <Sme and you only" ' '"' ^«P''«d sharply. "You
^■^^f'^C^^^^^^^^ «'owly waved
My ^nses reeled. Then camera g.^i darkness.
icy^rSe'LTforwhifhTkne'lToLr, ^'^"'""^ '" «"
gn.atSL^tedZs'Tote d£ 'T' °^ -""^ --
the fog, in which I refoirS I *^i? ^'"' mysterious in
and ^lestminSr ATbef S bJfth"°" m' t^ P^^'i^n'^t
where we stood in froni of th. W " '^ >'' ^«^" f™™
Good," he said. "Let us enter your Place of Talk "
tlie door .nd I hratoei ™?"" '» ? l><>lie««l«ii al
; " sin
'■■*!
346 When the World Shook
presence, even when Oro marched past him in his flow-
ing robes. So I followed with a lilse success. Then I
understood that we must be invisible.
We passed to the lobby, where members were hurry-
ing to and fro, and constituents and pressmen were
gathered, and so on into the House. Oro walked up its
floor and took his stand by the toble, in front of the
Speaker. I followed him, none saying us No.
As it chanced there was what is called a scene in
progress — I think it was over Irish matters ; the details
are of no account. Members shouted. Ministers pre-
varicated and grew angry, the Speaker intervened. On
the whole, it was rather a degrading spectacle. I stood,
or seemed to stand, and watched it all. Oro, in his
sweeping robes, which looked so incongruous in that
place, stepped, or seemed to step, up to the principal
personages of the Government and Opposition, whom I
indicated to him, and inspected them one by one, as a
natural-st might examine strange insects. Then, re-
turning to me, he said :
"Come away; I have seen and heard enough, wno
would have thought that this nation of yours was
struggling for its life in war ? "
We passed out of the House and somehow came to
Trafalgar Square. A meeting was in progress there,
convened, apparently, to advocate the rights of Labour,
also those of women, also to protest against things in
general, especially the threat of Conscription in the
service of the country. , . , 1. •
Here the noise was tremendous, and, the fog having
lifted somewhat, we could see everything. Speakers
bawled from the base of Nelson's column. Their
supporters cheered, their adversaries rushed at them,
and in one or two instances succeeded in pulling them
down. A woman climbed up and began to scream out
something which could only be heard by a few reporters
gathered round her. I thought her an unpleasant-look-
ing person, and evidently her remarks were not palatable
to the majority of her auditors. There was a rush, and
she was dragged from the base of one of Landseer s
Oro and Arbuthnot Travel 247
lions on which she stood. Her skirt was half rent off
her and her bodice split down the back. Finally, she
was conveyed away, kicking, biting, and scratching, by
tumuU e'nsued!^ '■ ^' *"" * disgusting sight.^nS
"Let us go," said Oro. "Your officers of order are
good; the rest is not good."
Later we found ourselves opposite to the doors of a
famous restaurant where a magnificent and ffigantic
commissionaire helped ladies from motor-cars, receiving
in return money from the men who attended on them.
We entered; it was the hour of dinner. The place
sparkled with gems, and the naked backs of the women
gleamed in the electric light. Course followed upon
course; champagne flowed, a fine band played, every-
thing was costly; everything was, in a sense, repellent.
I hese are the wealthy citizens of a nation engaged
in fighting for its life," remarked Oro to me, stroking
h^s long beard. " It is interesting, very interesting. L«
We went out and on, passing a public-house crowded
with women who had left their babies in charge of
children m the icy street. It was a day of Intercession
for the success of England in the war. This was
placarded everywhere. We entered, or, rather, Oro did.
I following him, one of the churches in the Strand where
an evening service was in progress. The preacher in
the pulpit, a very able man, was holding forth upon the
necessity for national repentance and self-denial; also
of prayer. In the body of the church exactly thirty-two
people, most of them elderly women, were listening to
him with an air of placid acceptance.
"The priest talks well, but his hearers are not many,"
said Oro. "Let us go." '
We came to the flaunting doers of a great music-hall
and passed through them, though to others this would
have been impossible, for the place was filled from floor
to roof. In Its promenades men were drinking and
smoking, while gaudy women, painted and low-robed,
leered at them. On the stage girls danced, throwing
>« 111
248 When the World Shook
their legs above their heads. Then they vanished
amidst applause, and a woman in a yellow robe, who
pretended to be tipsy, sang a horrible and vulgar song
full of topical allusions, which was received with
screams of delight by the enormous audience.
"Here the hearers are very many, but those to whom
they listen do not talk well. Let us go," said Oro, and
we went.
At a recruiting station we paused a moment to con-
sider posters supposed to be attractive, the very sight ot
which sent a thrill of shame through me. I remember
that the inscription under one of them was : ' What will
your best girl say ? " • mi
" Is that how you gather your soldiers ? Later it will
be otherwise," said Oro, and passed on.
We reached Blackfriars and entered a hall at tnc
doors of which stood women in poke-bonnets, very
sweet-faced, earnest-looking women. Their counten-
ances seemed to strike Oro, and he motioned me to
follow him into the hall. It was quite full of a
miserable-looking congregation of perhaps a thousand
people. A man in the blue and red uniform of the
Salvation Army was preaching of duty to God and
country, of self-denial, hope and forgiveness. He
seemed a humble person, but his words were earnert,
and love flowed from him. Some of his. miserable
congregation wept, others stared at him open-mouthed,
a few, who were very weary, slept. He called them up
to receive pardon, and a number, led by the sweet-faced
women, came and knelt before him. He and others
whispered to them, then seemed to bless them, and tney
rose with their faces changed. . . j »i.-o«
"Let us go," said Ore "I do not understand these
rites, but at last in your great and wonderful city I have
seen something that is pure and noble.
We went out. In the streets there was ereat excite-
ment. People ran to and fro pointing upwards. Search-
lights, like huge fingers of flame, stole across the sky ;
eSns boomed. At last, in the glare of a searchlight, we
Mw a long and sinister object floating high above us
Oro and Arbuthnot Travel 249
and gleaming as though it were made of silver. FlashM
«me from it follpwej'by terrible booming reportTtS
SKhfn^d'ur"- ^ '"""^ colifpseSTwitn
"Ah I " said Oro, with a smile. "I know this— it is
T'sTeT " ""^ *''" '^' ^"•'* *^^ different a^'y«
h^.k'o!?! ^P°^«'.* motor-bus rumbled past. Another
flash and explosion. A man, walking with his arm
rn^«H ""* ""^.l'' °^ ^ P'^ i"«' ^^'^^d of fs, seemed to™
tossed up and to meR. the girl fell in a heap on th^
pavement; somehow her heal and her feet had come
ouue close together and yet she appeared to be siS
down. The motor-bus burst into fragments and its pal
Z^l'L^'r'"** '•''""S? '^'^ "'' •""« hideous lump^
that had been men and women. The head of onrof
them came dancing down the pavement towards ul a
cigar still stuck in the corner of its mouth '
.^.JT' ' ^^ •? ^If'" ^''^ °™- "I' "^^^ me young
We watched a while. A crowd gathered. Policemen
ran up ambu ances came. The pGce was cleared, and
al that was left they carried away. A few minutes
later another man passed by with his arm rom^d thi
waist of arjother girl. Another motor-bus rumbled up
and, avoiding the hole in the roadway, travelled on. its
conductor keeping a keen look-out for fares
The street was cleared by the police; the airship
continued Its course, spawning bombs in the distance
and vanished. The incident was closed. "'^"^e,
Let us go home," said Oro. "I have seen enough
of 70ur great and wonderful city. I would rest in the
quiet of Nyo and think."
The next thing that I remember was the voice of
Bastin, saying :
"If you don't mind, Arbuthnot, I wish that you
would get up. The Glittering Lady (he still called her
that) is coming here to have a talk with me which I
*So When the World Shook
should prefer to be private. Excuse me for disturbinc;
you, but you have overslept yourself; indeed, I think
It must be nine o'clock, so far as I can judge by the sun,
for my watch is very erratic now, ever since Bickley
tried to clean it."
"I am sorry, my dear fellow," I said sleepily, "but
do you know I thought I was in London — in fact, I
could swear that I have been there."
"Then," interrupted Bickley, who had followed
Bastin into the hut, giving me that doubtful glance with
which I was now familiar, " I wish to goodness that you
had brought back an evening paper with you."
A night or two later I was again suddenly awakened
to feel that Oro was approaching. He appeared like a
ghost in the bright moonlight, greeted me, and said :
"To-night, Humphrey, we must make another
journey. I would visit the seat of the war."
"I do not wish to go," I said feebly.
"What you wish does not matter," he replied. "I
wish that you should go, and therefore you must."
"Listen, Oro," I exclaimed. "I do not like this busi-
ness ; it seems dangerous to me."
"There is no danger if you are obedient, Humphrey."
"I think there is. I do not understand what happens.
Do you make use of what the Lady Yva called the
Fourth Dimension, so that our bodies pass over the
seas and through mountains, like the vibrations of our
Wireless, of which I was speaking to you?"
"No, Humphrey. That method is good and easy,
but I do not use it because if I did we should be visible
in the places which we visit, since there all the atoms
that make a man would collect together again and be a
man."
"What, then, do you do?" I asked, exasperated.
"Man, Humphrey, is not one; he is many. Thus,
amongst other things he has a Double, which can see
and hear, as he can in the flesh, if it is separated from
the flesh."
"The old Egyptians believed that," I said.
Oro and Arbuthnot Travel 251
" Did they ? Doubtless they inherited the knowledge
from us, the Sons of Wisdom. The cup of our learnini?
was so full that, keep it secret as we would, from time
to time some of it overflowed among the vulgar, and
doubtless thus the light of our knowledge stPi burns
feebly m the world."
I reflected to myself that whatever might be their
other characteristics, the Sons of Wisdom had lost that
of modesty, but I only asked how he used his Double,
supposing that it existed.
"Very easily." he answered. "In sleep it can be
drawn from the body and sent upon its mission bv one
that IS its master."
"Then while you were asleep for all those thousands
of years your Double must have made many jpurneys."
"Perhaps," he replied quietly, "and my spirit also,
which IS another part of me that may have dwelt in
the bodies of other men. But unhappily, if so I forget,
and that is why I have so much to learn and must even
make use of such poor instruments as you, Humphrey."
"Then if I sleep and you distil my Double out of
me, I suppose that you sleep too. In that case who
distils your Double out of you. Lord Oro ? "
He grew angry and answered :
" Ask no more questions, blind and ignorant as you
It is your part not to examine, but to obey. Sleep
' and again he waved his hand over me.
In an instant, as it seemed, we were standing in a
grey old town that I judged from its appearance must
be either in northern France or Belgium. It was much
shattered by bombardment; the church, for instance,
was a ruin ; also many of the houses had been burnt.
Now, however, no firing was going on for the town
had been taken. The streets were full of armed men
wearing the German uniform and helmet. We passed
down them and were able to see into the houses. In
some of these were German soldiers engaged in looting
and in other things so horrible that even the unmoved
Oro turned away his head.
are
now.
r-..
asa When the World Shook
We came to tlie tnarket-pUce. It was crowded with
German troops, also with a great number of the in.
habitants of the town, most of them elderlv men and
women with children, who had fallen into their power.
The Germans, under the command of o£Bcers, were
dragging the men from the arms of their wives and
children to one side, and with rifle-butts beating back
the screaming women. Among the men I noticed two
or three priests who were doing their best to soothe their
companions and even giving them absolution in hurried
whispers.
At length the separat'on was effected, whereon at a
hoarse word of commar ^ a company of soldiers began
to fire at the men and t ntinue^* doing so until all had
fallen. Then petty officers went among the slaughtered
and with pistols blew out the brains of any who still
moved.
"These butchers, you say, are Germans?" asked
Oro of me.
"Yes," I answered, sick with horror, for though I
was in the mind and not in the body, I could feel as the
mind does. Had I been in the body also, I should
have fainted.
"Then we need not waste time in visiting their
country. It is enough; let us go on."
We passed out mto the open land and came to a
village. It was in the occupation of German cavalry.
Two of them held a little girl of nine or ten, one by her
body, the other by her right hand. An officer stood
between them with a drawn sword fronting the terrified
child. He was a horrible, coarse-faced man who looked
to me as though he had been drinking.
"I'll teach the young devil to show us the wrong
road and let those French swine escape," he shouted,
and struck with the sword. The girl's right hand fell
to the eround.
""W^r as practised by the Germans I" remarked
Oro. Then he stepped, or seemed to step, up to the
man and whispered, or seemed to whisper, in his ear.
I do not know what tongue or what spirit speech he
Oro and Arbuthnot Travel 253
used, or what he said, but the Woated-faced brute turned
"I Y* ' ^ '"^'' *'"" '"'•
I think there are spirits in this place," he said with
fnS'^"? ~,"*- "^ ~"'<* have sworn that s^tWnJ
told me that I was going to die. Mount 1 " """^"""^
" waS!""^iro?::^ ""'^ »"«"" '° "''• •-•y-
.^r^oJ'' »M» out Of a dark cloud appeared an
aeroplane. Its pilot saw the band of t;< n-.aiUb!„,,,h
and dropped a bomb. The aim wa. o^T^rJhe
cloud^of dust from which arose the sen .,n. of^nen'Td
"Come and see," said Oro.
We were there. Out of the cloud of dust aoueared
vnn/ZA^u'"^ ''*"'* ^hen the horror \vas done
n • 1,^" i**" °*''"* *■"« dead except the officer who
had worked the deed. He was still living, but bSth his
Sv he di^S' ^ ^'' ^"' ^$^ ''«" '"°'^" awar Pre-
sently he died, screaming to God for mercy.
We passed on and came to a barn with wide doors
that swung a little in the wind, cauW The ™^^
hinges to scream like a creature n pain. On ea?h S
these doors hung a dead man crucified^ The hat"f one
shai'of ifthK ''"' ^T'^'.-'^<i I knew from the
P?N?i " "*' ^ ^»s a Colonial soldier.
th-m Ir." T *^'i '"^•" ^'■'* Oto after surveying
fifth?" ^*^ ^""'*"" ^'•^^ "^ y°"' Chrillian
ruler'I'lL.*'"* "'*' ^^"" °^ ^°*' ** «'*«y« «" their
"Ahf" he said, "I am glad that I worshio Fat*.
Bast.n the priest need trouble^me no more " '^
Bastil'hims^'lf'°'""*''"^ ^^'"^ ^«'^ '" ' '-d. quoting
m,.rh*«''*i'^"f ^ '"*'*^'^ ^ ''^^•^ always held, but after
^orLjl / •'^""°' undersund the manner of tS
working. Fate is enough for me."
f
254 When the World Shook
We went on and came to a flat country that was
lined with ditches, all of them full of men, Germans on
one side, English and French upon the other. A
terrible bombardment shook the earth, the shells rain-
ing upon the ditches. Presently that from the English
guns ceased and out of the trenches in front of them
thousands of men were vomited, who ran forward
through a hail of fire in which scores and hundreds
fell, across an open piece of ground that was pitted
with shell craters. They came to barbed wire defences,
or what remained of them, cut the wire with nippers
and pulled up the posts. Then through the gaps they
s ;'-ged in, shouting and hurling hand grenades. They
reached the German trenches, they leapt into them and
from those holes arose a hellish din. Pistols were fired
and everywhere bayonets flashed.
Behind them rushed a horde of little, dark-skinned
men, Indians who carried great knives in their hands.
Those leapt over the first trench and running on with
wild yells, dived into the second, those who were left of
them, and there began hacking with their kr'-es at the
defenders and the soldiers who worked tr- spitting
maxim guns. In twenty minutes it was over; those
lines of trenches were taken, and once more from either
side the guns began to boom.
"War again.'^said Oro, "clean, honest war, such as
the god I call Fate decrees for man. I have seen
enough. Now I would visit those whom you call
Turks. I understand they have another worship and
perhaps they are nobler than these Christians."
We came to a hilly country which I recognised as
Armenia, for once I travelled there, and stopped on a
seashore. Here were the Turks in thousands. They
were engaged in driving before them mobs of men,
women and children in countless numbers. On and on
they drove them till they reached the shore. There
they massacred them with bayonets, with bullets, or by
drowning. I remember a dreadful scene of a poor
woman standing up to her waist in the water. Three
children were clinging to her— but I cannot go on,
Oro and Arbuthnot Travel 255
really I cannot go on. In the end a Turk waded out
and bayoneted her while she strove io protect the last
living child with her poor body whence it sprang.
"These, I understand," said Oro, pointing to the
Turkish soldiers, "worship a prophet who they say is
the voice of God."
"Yes," I answered, "and therefore they massacre
these who are Christian because they worship God with-
out a prophet."
"And what do the Christians massacre each other
for?"
"Power and the wealth and territories that are
power. That is, the King of the Germans wishes to
rule the world, but the other Nations do not desire his
dominion. Therefore they fight for Liberty and
Justice."
"As it was, so it is and shall be," remarked Oro,
"only with this difference. In the old world some were
wise, but here " and he stopped, his eyes fixed upon
the Armenian woman struggling in her death agony
while the murderer drowned her child, then added:
"Let us go."
Our road ran across the sea. On it we saw a ship so
large that it attracted Oro's attention, and for once he
expressed astonishment.
"In my day," he said, "we had no vessels of this
greatness in the world. I wish to look upon it."
We landed on the deck of the ship, or rather the
floating palace, and examined her. She carried many
passengers, some English, some American, and I
pointed out to Oro the differences between the two
peoples. These were not, he remarked, very wide except
that the American women wore more jewels, also that
some of the American men, to whom we listened as
they conversed, spoke of the greatness of their country,
whereas the Englishmen, if they said anything concern-
ing it, belittled their country.
Presently, on the surface of the sea at a little dis-
tance apfjeared something strange, a small and
ominous object like a can on the top of a pole. A voice
f:A' )
356 When the World Shook
1 "^
cried out " Submarine I " and everyone near rushed to
look.
"If those Germans try any of their monkey tricks
on us, I guess the United States will give them hell,"
mid another voice near by.
Then from the direction of the pole with the tin can
on the top of it, came something which caused a dis-
turbance in the smooth water and bubbles to rise in its
wake.
"A torpedo 1 " cried some.
"Shut your mouth," said the voice. "Who dart-
torpedo a vessel full of the citizens of the United
States?"
Next came a booming crash and a flood of up-
thrown water, in the wash of which that speaker was
carried away into the deep. Then horror! horror!
horror! indescribable, as the mighty vessel went wal-
lowing to her doom. Boats launched; boats overset;
boats dragged under by her rush through the water
which could not be stayed. Maddened men and women
running to and fro, their eyes starting from their heads,
clasping children, fastening lifebelts over their costly
gowns, or appearing from their cabins, their hands
filled with jewels that they sought to save. Orders
cried from high places by stern-faced officers doing
their duty to the last. And a little way off that thin
pole with a tin can on the top of it watching its work.
Then the plunge of the enormous ship into the deep,
its huge screws still whirling in the air and the boom of
the bursting boilers. Lastly everything gone save a few
boats floating on the quiet sea and around them dots
that were the heads of struggling human beings.
"Let us go home," said Oro, "I grow tired of this
war of your Christian peoples. It is no better than
that of the barbarian nations of the early world. Indeed
it is worse, since then we worshipped Fate and but a
few of us had wisdom. Now you all claim wisdom and
declare that you worship a God of Mercy."
With these words still ringing in my ears I woke up
Oro and Arbuthnot Travel 257
upon the Island of Orofena, filled witli terror at the
horrible possibilities of nightmare.
What else could it be ? There was the brown and
ancient cone of the extinct volcano. There were the
tall palms of the main island and the lake glitterine in
the sunlight between. There was Bastin conducti^ a
kind of Sunday school of Orofenans upon the point of
the Rock of Offerings, as now he had obtained the leave
of Oro to do. There was the mouth of the cave, and
issuing from it Bickley, who by help of one of the
hurricane lamps had been making an examination of
the buried remains of what he supposed to be flying
machines. Without doubt it was nightmare, and
I would say nothing to them about It for fear of
mockery.
Yet two nights later Oro came again and after the
usual preliminaries, said :
"Humphrey, this night we will visit that mighty
American nation, of which you have told me so much,
and the other Neutral Countries.
[At this point there is a gap in Mr. Arbuthnot'.s
MS., so Oro s reflections on the Neutral Nations, if
any, remain unrecorded. It continues :]
On our homeward way we passed over Australia,
making a detour to do so. Of the cities Oro took no
account. He said that they were too large and too
many, but the country interested him so much that I
gathered he mu.st have given great attention to agricul-
ture at some time in the past. He pointed out to me
that the climate was fine, and the land so fertile that
with a proper system of irrigation and water-storage it
could support tens of millions and feed not only itself
but a great part of the outlying world.
"But where are the people?" he asked. "Outside
of those huge hives," and he indicated the great cities,
"I see few of them, though doubtless some of the men
are fighting in this war. Well, in the days to come
this must be remedied."
u
If^ j 958 When the World Shook
I . Over New Zealand, which he found beautiful, he
li. ! shook his head for the same reason.
On another night we visited the East. China with
Its teeming millions interested him extremely, partly
because he declared these to be the descendants of one
of the barbarian nations of his own day. He made a
remark to the effect that this race had always possessed
pomts and capacities, and that he thought that with
proper government and instruction their Chinese off-
spring would be of use in a regenerated world.
; For the Japanese and all that they had done in two
^| snort generations, he went so far as to express real
adniiration, a very rare thing with Oro, who was by
f , , nature critical. I could see that mentally he put a
white mark against their name.
India, too, really moved him. He admired the
ancient buildings at Delhi and Agra, especially the Taj
Mahal. This, he declared, was reminiscent of some of
the palaces that stood at Pani, the capital city of the
. i Sons of Wisdom, before it was destroyed by the Bar-
; .} barians. The English administration of the country
[■"\ also attracted a word of praise from him, I think because
; of its rather autocratic character. Indeed he went so
far as to declare that, with certain modifications, it
should be continued in the future, and even to intimate
r- , 'hat he would bear the matter in mind. Democratic
', forms of government had no charms for Ore.
iM 1 Amongst other places, we stopped at Benares and
IJgS ' watched the funeral rites in progress upon the banks
H| t of the holy Ganges. The bearers of the dead brought
mk : the body of a woman wrapped in a red shroud that
glittered with tinsel ornaments. Coming forward at a
run and chanting as they ran, they placed it upon the
stones for a little while, then lifted it up again and
carried it down the steps to the edge of the river. Here
they took water and poured it over the corpse, thus
perfor;ning the rite of the baptism of death. This
done, they placed its feet in the water and left it looking
very small and lonely. Presently appeared a tali,
white-draped woman who took her stand by the body
Oro and Arbuthnot Travel 259
and wailed. It was the dead one's mother. Again
the JDcarers approached and laid the corose upon the
flaming pyre.
"These rites are ancient," said Oro. "When I ruled
as King of the World they were practised in this very
place. It is pleasant to me to find something that has
survived the changefulness of Time. Let it continue
till the end."
Here I will cease. These experiences that I have
recorded are but samples, for also we visited Russia and
other countries. Perhaps, too, they were not experi-
ences at all, but only dreams consequent on my state
of health. I cannot say for certain, thoueh much of
what I seemed to see fitted in very well mdeed with
what I learned in after days, and certainly at the time,
they appeared as real as though Oro and I had stood
together U{x>n those various shores.
CHAPTER XXI
i.
Cw
love's eternal altar
Now of all these happenings I said very little to Bastin
and Bickley. The former would not have understood
them, and the latter attributed what I did tell him to
mental delusions following on my illness. To Yva I
did speak about them, however, imploring her to
explain their origin and to tell me whether or not they
were but visions of the night.
She listened to me, as I thought not without
anxiety, from which I gathered that she too feared for
my mind. It was not so, however, for she said :
"I am glad, O Humphrey, that your journeyings
are done, since such things are not without danger.
He who travels far out of the body may chance to
return there no more."
"But were they journeyings, or dreams?" 1 asked.
She evaded a direct answer.
"I cannot say. My father has great powers. I do
not know them all. It is possible that they were neither
journeying nor dreams. Mayhap he used you as the
sorcerers m the old days used the magic glass, and
after he had put his spell upon you, read in your mind
that which passes elsewhere."
I understood her to refer to what we call clairvoy-
ance, when the person entranced reveals secret or
distant things to the entrancer. This is a more or less
established phenomenon and much less marvellous than
the actual transportation of the spiritual self through
space. Only I never knew of an instance in which
the seer, on awaking, remembered the things that he
had seen, as in my case. There, however, the matter
rested, or rests, for I could extract nothing more from
260
Love's Eternal Altar
261
Yva. who appeared to me to have her orders on the
_ Nor did Oro ever talk of what I had c-.™,.^ .
mmmM
w™ } d'scovered that it contained compressed in
formation about the various countries of the world al^
concerning almost every other matter. Mv beiref U fhTf
w.th,n a month or so tLt marvellous ofd^man no^nlv
^mP^h' stupendous work from end to end, but that he
At iST* ^^^T*"'"^ °^ '"^^^^s' *hich t contained!
At least, he wou d appear and show the fullest acquaim-
ance with certam subjects or places, seekinrfurthir
X '^Zi:^:^^ '''"'' -'^^"^ ^-y °^-" "-»
An accident, as it chanced, whereof I need not set
^hVt^ '^T^^^' ^"^^ -"« '<> ^i-^over that hfs remarik
able knowledge was limited. Thus, at one period he
knew httle about any modern topic ;hich l^gan wi'th a
letter later m the alphabet than, let us sav C A few
days afrerwards he was acquainled with^h^osT uplo F
or G ; and so on till he reached Z, when he appeared to
^H«H v.°'' *^'"y*'''"g' «"d returned the book^ Now?
indeed, he was a monument of learning, very ancien
and very new, and with some EncyclopadiaLarner^'
facts or deductions of what had hap^ned betwf^n
thJ^l'^r'' ^ *°°u- '° ^s'^opomical research, for more
sSdv,W tJl^'' h>m standing on the rock at night
studying the heavens. On one of these occasions when
he had the two metal plates, of which I have spokerin
lil ifnlti \u?l"'^'^ to approach and ask what he did.
He replied that he was checkinq: his calculations that he
found to be quite correct, an exact period of two hundred
and fifty thousand years having gone bv since .V laid
1»
263 When the World Shook
himself down to sleep. Then, by aid of the plates, he
pointed out to me certain alterations that nad hap-
pened during that period in the positions of some of
the stars.
For instance, he showed me one which, by help of
my glasses, I recognised as Sirius, and remarked that
two hundred and fifty thousand years ago it was further
away and much smaller. Now it was precisely in the
place and ot the size which he had predicted, and he
pointed to it on his prophfti^ map. Again he indicated
a star that the night-glas" old me was CapcHa, which,
I suppose, is one of the rs est brilliant stars in the sky,
and showed me that on the map he had made two hun-
dred and fifty thousand years ago, it did not exist, as
then it was too far north to appear thereon. Still, he ob-
served, the passage of this vast period of time had pro-
duced but little effect upon the face of the heavens. To
the human eye the majority of the stars had not moved
so very far.
"And yet they travel fast, O Humphrey," he said.
"Consider then how great is their journey between the
time they gather and that day when, worn-out, once
more they melt to vaporous gas. You think me long-
lived who compared to them exist but a tiny fraction of
a second, nearly all of which I have baen doomed to
pass in sleep. And, Humphrey, I desire to live— I, who
have great plans and would shake the world. But my
day draws in ; a few brief centuries and I shall be gone,
and — whither, whither?"
"If you lived as long as those stars, the end would
be the same, Oro."
"Yes, but the life of the stars is very long, millions
of millions of years; also, after death, they re-form, .is
other stars. But shall I re-form as another Oro ? With
all my wisdom, I do not know. It is known to Fate
only — Fate — the master of worlds and men and the gods
they worship — Fate, whom it may please to spill my
gathered knowledge, to be lost in the sands of Time."
"It seems that you are great," I said, "and have
lived lon'j and learned much. Yet the end of it is that
. it
Love's Eternal Altar 263
wirh'in '*/'°' """"Phrey. Presently you will die and
.« You h:!""'^,:'" ' *'"'" ^'« *'^ and be as you
*re. You believe that you will live again eternallv l^
may be so because you do believe sinr.. kI?- i^i' "
Faith to shape the future, if oSy for'a ittle wh^^B*?
dte" E^iffT }"" ^^™y;^ ^''"^ and thereLri i mus
tLJ^^■ Ji^^^P "«^*'." ^°' «"S of thousands of yw"
Tnd tha 'l sha f „^?' '" u ^ "'*•' ^'"P '» "nconsc^iuS
ana tnat l shall only wake again to d e. since sleen Hn«.
not restore to us our youth 7" ^ °°^^
- » "1,"^*^' a'"^„*alked up and down the rock with
wj/;ia'rcLt"VkS\^^^^^^^^^^^
mfkeTou'Se"' I'i' "•'* '^y °^ mine shairbe''"to
2!» fi,^ believe. I have great powers and you shall
see them at work, and afterwards, if things po rii^h
mts^bfecS* ^H^rk^^'^*''"*'- P^^aps, Tthf fiK
r^io,fi=;/ Hearken nowj in one small matter mv
calculations, made so long ago, have gone wrong Th^v
showed me that at this time a day of earthouakf i \,^l
Z^r '"11,'^*'" ""^ "«»'" haJe rockedlnd JlitThi
world, would recur. But now it seems that there s an
error, a tiny error of eleven hundred years which mus^
go by before those earthquakes come."
,«n„» f ^°" ^"'*'" I suggested humbly, "that there
IS not also an error in those star-maps you hold?"
1 am sure, Humphrey. Some day, who knows?
you may return to your world of modern men whTl
fmJ 't r ''"«*'«dge of the great science of T^ron
omy. Take now these maps with which I have done
f« themTll""" V^^ ""r '^""•^'^ °f those men and
let them tell you whether I was right or wrong in what
I wrote upon this metal two hundred and fifty thouIaS
years ago, Whatever else is false, at least the sUr^^
their motions can never lie."
Then he handed me the maps and was gone. I have
r*
:'.'i
IJ ::
264 When the World Shook
them to-day, and if ever this boolc is published, they
will appear with it, that those who are qualified may
judge of them and of the truth or otherwise of Oro s
words.
From that night forward for quite a long time I saw
Oro no more. Nor indeed did any of us, since for some
reason of his own he forbade us to visit the underground
city of Nyo. Oddly enough, however, he commanded
Yva to brmg down the spaniel. Tommy, to be with him
from time to time. When I asked her why, she said it
was because he was lonely and desired the dog's com-
panionship. It seemed to us very strange that this
super-man, who h|id the wisdom of ten Solomons
gathered in one within his breast, should yet desire
the company of a little dog. What then was the
worth of learning and long life, or, indeed, of any-
thing? Well, Solomon himself asked the question
ages since, and could give no answer save that all is
vanity.
I noted about this time that Yva began to grow very
sad and troubled; indeed, looking at Tier suddenly on
two or three occasions, I saw that her beautiful eyes
were aswim with tears. Also, I noted that always as
she grew sadder she became, in a sense, more human.
In the beginning she was, as it were, far away. One
could never forget that she was the child of some alien
race whose eyes had looked upon the world when, by
comparison, humanity was young; at times, indeed, she
might have been the denizen of another planet, strayed
to earth. Although she never flaunted it, one felt that
her simplest word hid secret wisdom ; that to her books
were open in which we could not read. Moreover, as
I have said, occasionally power flamed out of her, power
that was beyond our ken and understanding.
Yet with all this there was nothing elfish about her,
nothing uncanny. She was always kind, and, as wf
could feel, innately good and gentle-hearted, just a
woman made half-divine by gifts and experience that
others lack. She did not even make use of ber wondrous
Love's Eternal Altar
265
beau^ to madden men, as she might well have done had
»he been so minded. It is true that both Bastin and
Bickley fell m love with her, but that was only because
all with whom she had to do must love her, and then
when she told them that it might not be, it was in such
a fashion that no soreness was left behind. They went
on loving her. that was all, but as men love their sisters
or their daughters; as we conceive that they may love in
that land where there is no marrying or giving in
marriage.
But now, in her sadness, she drew ever nearer to us,
and especially to myself, more in tune with our age and
thought. In truth, save for her royal and glittering
loveliness in which there was some quality which pr<>
claimed her of another blood, and for that reserve of
hidden power which at times would look out of her eyes
or break through her words, she might in most ways
have been some singularly gifted and beautiful modern
woman.
The time has come when I must speak of my relations
with Yva and of their climax. As may have been
guessed, from the first I began to love her. While the
weeks went on that love grew and grew, until it utterly
poMessed me, although for a certain reason connected
with one dead, at first I fought against it. Yet it did
not develop quite in the fashion that might have been
expected. There was no blazing up of passion's fire;
rather was there an ever-increasing glow of the holiest
affection, till at last it became a lamp by which I must
guide my feet through life and death. This love of
mine seemed not of earth but from the stars. As yet I
had said nothing to her of it because in some way I felt
that she did not wish me to do so, felt also that she was
well aware of all that passed within my heart, and
desired, as it were, to give it time to ripen there. Then
one day there came a change, and though no glance or
touch of Yva's told me so, I knew that the bars were
taken down and that I might speak.
It was a night of full moon. All that afternoon she
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266 When the World Shook
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had been talking to Bastin apart, I suppose about
religion, for I saw that he had some books in his hand
from which he was expounding something to her in his
slow, earnest way. Then she came and sat with us
while we took our evening meal. I remember that mine
consisted of some of the Life-water which she had
brought with her and fruit, for, as I think I have said,
I had acquired her dislike to meat, also that she ate
some plantains, throwing the skins for Tommy to fetch
and laughing at his play. When it was over, Bastin
and Bickley went away together, whether by chance or
design I do not know, and she said to me suddenly :
"Humphrey, you have often asked me about the city
Pani, of which a little portion of the ruins remains upon
this island, the rest being buried beneath the waters. If
you wish I will show you where our royal palace was
before the barbarians destroyed it with their airships.
The moon is very bright, and by it we can see."
I nodded, for, knowing what she meant, somehow I
could not answer her, and we began the ascent of the
hill. She explained to me the plan of the palace when
we reached the ruins, showing me where her own apart-
ments had been, and the rest. It was very strange to
hear her quietly telling of buildings which had stood
and of things that had happened over two hundred and
fifty thousand years before, much as any modern lady
might do of a house that had been destroyed a month
ago by an earthquake or a Zeppelin bomb, while she
described the details of a disaster which now frightened
her no more. I think it was then that for the first time
I really began to believe that in fact Yva had lived all
those aeons since and been as she still appeared.
We passed from the palace to the ruins of the temple,
through what, as she said, had been a pleasure-garden,
pointing out where a certain avenue of rare palms had
grown, down which once it was her habit to walk in the
cool of the day. Or, rather, there were two terraced
temples, one dedicated to Fate like that in the under-
ground city of Nyo, and the other to Love. Of the
temple to Fate she told me her father had been the High
Love's Eternal Altar
267
Priest, and of the temple to Love she was the Hieh
Priestess. *
Then it was that I understood why she had brought
me here.
She led the way to a marble block covered with worn-
out carvings and almost buried in the debris. This, she
said, was the alUr of ofiferings. I asked her what offer-
ings, and she replied with a smile :
"Only wine, to signify the spirit of life, and flowers
to symbolise its fragrance," and she laid her fingsr on
a cup-like depression, still apparent in the marble, into
which the wine was poured.
Indeed, I gathered that there was nothing coarse or
bacchanalian about this worship of a prototype of
Aphrodite; on the contrary, that it was more or
less spiritual and ethereal. We sat down on the altar
stone. I wondered a little that she should have done so,
but she read my thought, and answered :
"Sometimes we change our faiths, Humphrey, or
perhaps they grow. Also, have I not told you that
sacrifices were offered on this altar?" and she sighed
and smiled.
I do not know which was the sweeter, the smile or
the sigh.
We looked at the water glimmering in the crater
beneath us on the edge of which we sat. We looked at
heaven above in which the great moon sailed royally.
Then we looked into each other's eyes.
"I love you," I said.
"I know it," she answered gently. "You have loved
me from the first, have you not? Even when I lay
asleep in the coffin you began to love me, but until you
dreamed a certain dream you would not admit it."
" Yva, what was the meaning of that dream ?"
" I cannot say, Humphrey. But I tell you this. As
you will learn in time, one spirit may be clothed in
different garments of the flesh."
I did not understand her, but, in some strange way,
her words brought to my mind those that Natalie spoke
at the last, and I answered :
■I'
^3
m
s
S3
■11 :
268 When the World Shook
" Yva, when my wife lay dying she bade me seek her
elsewhere, for certainly I should find her. Doubtless
she meant beyond the shores of death — or perhaps she
also dreamed."
She bent her head, looking at me very strangely.
" Your wife, too, may have had the gift of dreams,
Humphrey. As you dream and I dream, so mayhap
she dreamed. Of dreams, then, let us say no more, since
I think that they have served their purpose, and all three
of us understand."
Then I stretched out my arms, and next instant my
head lay upon her perfumed breast. She lifted it and
kissed me on the lips, saying :
"With this kiss again I give myself to you. But
oh 1 Humphrey, do not ask too much of the god of
my people, Fate," and she looked me in the eyes and
sighed.
"What do you mean?" I asked trembling.
"Many, many things. Among them, that happiness
is not for mortals, and remember that though my life
began long ago, I am mortal as you are, and that in
eternity time makes no difference."
" And if so, Yva, what then ? Do we meet but to
part?"
"Who said it? Not I. Humphrey, I tell you this.
Nor earth, nor heaven, nor bell have any bars through
which love cannot burst its way towards re-union and
completeness. Only there must be love, manifested in
many shapes and at many times, but ever striving to
its end, which is not of the flesh. Aye. love that has
lost itself, love scorned, love defeated, love that seems
false, love betrayed, love gone astray, love wandering
through the worlds, love asleep and living in its sleep,
love awake and yet sleeping; all love that has in it the
germ of life. It matters not what form love takes. If
it be true I tell you that it will win its way, and in the
many that it has seemed to worship, still find the one,
though perchance not here."
At her words a numb fear gripped my heart.
" Not here ? Then where ? " I said.
Love's Eternal Altar 269
"Ask your dead wife, Humphrey. Ask the dumb
stars. Ask the God you worship, for I cannot answer.
save in one word— Somewhere 1 Man, be not afraid.
Dou you thmk that such as you and I can be lost in the
achmg abysms of space? I know but little, yet 1 tell
you that we are its rulers. I tell you that we, too, are
gods. If only we can aspire and believe. For the doubt-
ing and timid there is naught. For those who see with
the eyes of the soul aad stretch out their hands to grasp
there is all. Even Bastin will tell you this."
"But," I said, "life is short. Those worlds are far
away, and you are near."
She became wonderful, mysterious.
"Near I am far," she said; "and far I am near, if
only this love of yours is strong enough to follow and
to clasp. And, Humphrey, it needs strength, for here
1 am afraid that it will bear little of such fruit as men
desire to pluck."
Again terror took hold of me, and I looked at her,
for I did not know what to say or ask.
"Listen," she went on. "Already my father has
offered me to you in marriage, has he not, but at a price
which you do not understand? Believe me is one
that you should never pay, since the rule of ..e world
can be too dearly bought by the slaughter of half the
world. And if you would pay it, I cannot."
"But this is madness!" I exclaimed. "Your father
has no powers over our earth."
"I would that I could think so, Humphrey. I tell
you that he has powers and that it is his purpose to use
them as he has done before. You, too, he would use.
and me."
"And, if so, Yva, we are lords of ourselves. Let us
take each other while we may. Bastin is a priest."
"Lords of ourselves! Why, for aught I know, at
this very moment Oro watches us in his thought and
laughs. Only in death, Humphrey, shall we pass be-
yond his reach and become lords of ourselves."
"It is monstrous!" I cried. "There is the boat, let
us fly away.
<r»
270 When the World Shook
"What boat can bear us out of the stretch of the arm
of the old god of my people, Fate, whereof Oro is (he
n'&lj Pnest' Nay, here we must wait our doom."
Doom," I said— "doom? What then is about to
happen ? "
"A terrible thing, as I think, Humphrey. Or.
rather, it will not happen."
"Why not, if it must?"
"Beloved," she whispered, "Bastin has expounded
to me a new faith whereof the master-word is Sacrifice.
The terrible thing will not happen because of sacrifice!
Ask me no more."
Sh? mused a while, seated there in the moonlight
upon the ancient altar of sacrifice, the veil she wore
fallmg about her face and making her mysterious. Then
she threw it back, showing her lovely eyes and elittering
hair, and laughed. •/ » s
" We have still an earthlv hour," she said ; " therefore
let us forget the far, dead past and the eternities to come
and be jo)rful in that hour. Now throw your arms about
me and I will tell you strange stories of lost days, and
you shall look into my eyes and learn wisdom, and you
shall kiss my lips and taste of bliss— you, who were and
are and shall be— you, the beloved of Yva from the
beginning to the end of Time."
Or,
CHAPTER XXII
THE COMMAND
I THINK that both Bastin and Bickley, by instinct as
It vyere, knew what had passed between V va and myself
and that she had promised herself to me. They showed
this by the way in which they avoided any mention of
her name. Also they began to talk of their own plans
for the future as matters in which I had no part. Thus
1 heard them discussing the possibility of escape from
the island whereof suddenly they seemed to have grown
w-eary, and whether by any means two men (two, not
three) could manage to sail and steer the lifeboat that
remained upon the wreck. In short, as in all such cases,
the woman had come between; also the pressure of a
common loss caused them to forget their differences and
to draw closer together. I, who had succeeded where
they both had failed, was, they seemed to think, out of
their lives, so much that our ancient intimacy had ended.
This attitude hurt me, perhaps because in many
respects the situation was awkward. They had, it is
true, taken their failures extremely well, still the fact
remained that both of them had fallen in love with the
wonderful creature, woman and yet more than woman,
who had bound herself to me. How then could we go
on living together, I in prospective possession of the
"bj^ct that all had desired, and they without the pale ?
Moreover, they were jealous in another and quite a
different fashion because they both loved me in their
own ways and were convinced that I who had hitherto
loved them, henceforward should have no affection left
to spare, since surely this Glittering Lady, this marvel
of wisdom and physical perfections would take it all.
Of course they were in error, since even if I could have
271
272 When the World Shook
wo*;?l/°h^^ and selfish, this was no conduct that Yva
SVought""''' °' '""" ''''"'''' S"" "^^ -"
then^S*"^ the Situation I reflected a little while and
?. l^^^ straight out to them.
My friends," I said, "as I see that vou have
"Yes, Arbuthnot," said Bastin, "we saw that in
your face, and in hers as she bade us good night before
she went into the cave, and we congratulate you and
wish you every happiness." *" ^ "**
in BiSv''''V.°n'''"^ happiness, old fellow," chimed
in Hickley He paused a while, then added, " But to
be honest, I am not sure that I congratulate you."
II Why not, Bickley ? " '
„„»"i^°' ^°^ *^^ l^^*°" ^^^^ y°" ""ay suspect, Arbuth-
r^V T^" not because you have won where we have
lost, as It was only to be expected that you would do, but
on account of something totally different. I told you
a while ago and repetition is useless and painful. I need
Sc^hli^"^^^'^, ^^^^ ^'"^^ '''^" ""y conviction has
strengthened and I am sure, sorry as I am to say it
that in this matter you must prepare for disappointment
and calamity. That woman" if woman shi^ reaHy '"
wil never be the wife of mortal man. Now be angry
with me if you like, or laugh as you have the right to
do, seeing that like Bastin and yourself, I also asked
her to marry me, but something makes me speak what
I believe to be the truth."
II Like Cassandra," I suggested.
''Yes, like Cassandra who was not a popular per-
At first I was inclined to resent Bickley's words— who
would not have been in the circumstances? Then of a
sudden there rushed in upon my mind the conviction
that he spoke the truth. In this world Yva was not for
me or any man. Moreover she knew it, the knowledge
peeped out of every word she spoke in our passionate
love scene by the lake. She was aware, and sub-
The Command 273
consciously I was aware, that we were plighting our
U e'lef?tI°l"'"^^"' 'r """"y- With tilne wf had
l«v! h., ^V T/°' .'°"e would she wear the ring I
gave her on that holy night. ^
acut^''*f^h^»hl'!";K'''''°.^ perceptions normally were not
t^Au I .'"^'.'^e situation was strained and awkward
and broke in with a curious air of forced satisfaction :
Its uncommonly lucky for you, old boy, that you
hp'ThJl ? ''"^ ^ clergyman in your party, as I shall
r^,.f^ r "J*"y y?" '" * respectable fashion. Of
course I can't say that the Glittering Lady is as vet
absolutely converted to our faith, but^I am certain tLt
she has absorbed enough of its principles to justify me
in uniting her in Christian wedlock." ^
.»,»". Xf'" ' ^"swered, " she has absorbed its principles ;
she told me as inuch herself. Sacrifice, for instance,"
*" . *| ' ?P°''! ."'^ *ord my eyes filled with tears.
*-., K ^^"'''^5 ' ''roke in Bickley with an angry snort,
for he needed a vent to his mental disturbance! "Rubl
bish. Whv shoiild every religion demand sacrifice as
savages do? By it alone they stand condemned."
Because as I think, sacrifice is the law of life, at
least of all life thai is worth the living," I answered
sadly enough. "Anyhow I believe you tre right, Bick-
ley,_ and that Bastin will not be troubled to marry us "
You don't mean," broke in Bastin with a horrified
air, that you propose to dispense "
. "No, Bastin, I don't mean that. What I mean
is that It comes upon me that something will prevent
this marriage. Sacrifice, perhaps, though in what shape
I do not know. And now good night. I am tired/'
That night in the chill dead hour before the dawn
Oro cime again. I woke up to see him seated by my
bed, majretic, and, as it seemed to me, lambent, though
this may have been my imagination.
" You take strange liberties with my daughter, Bar-
barian, or she takes strange liberties with you, it does
not matter which," he said, regarding me with his calm
and terrible eyes.
H
^
C"^
Pill
274 When the Wo.ld Shook
"Why do you presume to call me Barbarian ? " I
asked, avoiding the main issue.
" For this reason, Humphrey. All men aje the
same. 1 hey have the same organs, the s'<me instincts,
tlie same desires, which in essence are but two, food and
rebirth that Nature commands; though it is true th«t
millions of years before 1 was born, as I have learned
from the records of the Sons of Wisdo.n, it was said u;at
they were half ape. Yet being the same there is between
them a whole sea of difference, since some have know-
ledge and others none, or little. Those who have none
or little, among whom you must be numbered, are Bar-
barians. 'Ihose who have much, among whom my
daughter and I are the sole survivors, are the In-
structed.
"There are nearly two thousand millions of livine
people in this world," I said, "and you name all of them
Barbarians?"
"All, Humphrey, excepting, of course, myself and
my daughter who are not known to be alive. You
think that you have learned much, whereas in truth vou
are most igno.ant. The commonest of the outer nations,
when I destroyed them, knew more than your wisest
know to-day."
"You are mistaken, Oro; since then we have learned
something of the soul."
"Ah ! ' he exclaimed, "that interest-: me an'' perhaps
It IS true. Also, if true it is very important, as I have
told you before— or was it Bastin ? If a man has a soul,
he lives, whereas even we Sons of Wisdom die, and in
Death what is the use of Wisdom ? Because you can
believe, you have souls and are therefore, perhaps, heirs
to life, foohsn and ignorant as yoi are to-day. There-
fore I admit you and Bastin to be my equals, though
Bickley, who like myself believes nothing, is but a
common chemist and doctor of disease."
"Then you bow to Faith, Oro?"
t7 "u^'^^A ^u'* ^ ^'^'1'' ♦•'*' ""y S°^ Pate also bows to
Faith. Perhaps, .ndeed, Faith shapes Fate, not Fate
taith. But whence comes that faith which even I with
The Command 375
all my learning cannot command? Why L it denied
to me tnd given to you and Dastin ? "
t«<!pause us Bastin would tell you, it is a eift, Uioueh
R^r^™*" }^ " K," ^'"""^ '° '*•« proud and seif-sutlicient.
''And how sliall . become hun^tif?"
exercise, if such you have, and in repentance walkiniT
quietly to the Gates of Death," I repl.Vd *-
n,„„ .K' y*^"' Humphrey, who have little or noie of
d^ese things, .hat may be easy. But for me who nave
much. If not al!, it ,3 otherwise. You ask me to abando.i
the certain for the uncertain, the known fo. the un-
known, and from a half-god communing w.th the starv,
to become an earthworm crawling in mud and lifting
Shnd eyes towards the darkness of everlasting nipht."
th- ., i ° must die is no god, half or whole, Oro:
theeartliworm that lives on is greater than he."
Mayhap. Yet while I endure I will be as a goA
so that when night comes, if come it must, I shall ha\l-
p ayed my part and )eft my mark upon this little world
of ours. Have done I " he addei IvTth a burst of im-
patience. " What will you of my daughter?"
What man has always willed of woman— herself,
body and soul." '
"Her soul perchance is yours, if she has one, but her
body IS mine to give or withhold. Yet it can be bought
at a price," he added slowly. "
_*' So she told me, Oro.''
" I can guess what she told you. Did I not watch
you yonder by the lake when you gave her a ring craved
with the signs of Life and Everlastingness ? The ques-
tion is, will you pay the price?"
!,'™"* *'5 'he question is— what is the price?"
This; to enter my Jiervice and henceforth do my
will— without debate or cavil."
" For what reward, Oro?"
" Yya and the dominion of the earth while you shall
live, neither more nor less."
.] \i^\
276 When the World Shook
"And what if your will?"
" That you shall learn in due course. On the second
night from this 1 command the three of you to wait upon
me atsundown in the buried halls of Nyo. Til' then you
see no more of Yva, for I do not trust her. She, too,
has powers, though as yet she does not use them, and
perchance she would forget her oaths, and following
some new star of love, for a little while vanish with you
out of my reach. Be in the sepulchre at the hour of
sundown on the second day from this, all three of you, if
you would continue to live upon the earth. Afterwards
you shall learn my will and make your choice between
Yva with majesty and her loss with death."
Then suddenly he was gone.
Next morning I told the others what had passed,
and we talked the matter over. The trouble was, of
course, that Bickley did not believe me. He had no
faith in my alleged interviews with Oro, which he set
down to delusions of a semi-mesmeric character. This
was not strange, since it appeared that on the previous
night he had watched the door of my sleeping-place until
dawn broke, which it did long after Oro had departed,
and he had not seen him either come or go, although the
moon was shining brightly.
When he told me this I could only answer that all
the same he had been there as, if he could speak. Tommy
would have been able to certify. As it chanced the dog
was sleeping with me and at the first sound of the
approach of someone, woke up and gkowled. Then
recognising Oro, he went to him, wagged his tail and
curled himself up at his feet.
Bastin believed my story readily enough, saying
that Oro was a peculiar person who no doubt had ways
of coming and going which *e did not understand. His
point was, however, that he did not in the least wish
to visit Nyo any more. The wonders of its underground
palaces and temples had no charms for him. Also he
did not think he could do any good by going, since
after " sucking him as dry as a:, orange ''with reference
The Command 277
to religious matters "that old vampire-bat Oro had just
thrown him away like the rind," and, he might dd6,
seemed no better for the juice he had absorbed."
«.if L.M I' ' ~"''""«d BMtin. "whether St. Paul him-
m .^^'^h f*"" •;?n^"»fd Oro. even if he performed
m races before him. What is the use ofshowing
himMlf?"° ° ""*" *''° "*"'** "'**y* ^°'^ • '''8S*' °"«
In short, Bastin's one idea, and Bickley's also for
t.le matter of that, was to get away to the main island
and thence escape by means of the boat, or in )me other
fashion.
I pointed out that Ore had said we must obey at the
peril of our lives; indeed that he had put it even more
strongly, using words to the effect hat if we did not
he would kill us.
"I'd take the risk," said Bickley, "since I believe
that you dreamt it all, Arbuthnot. However, putting
that aside, there is a natural reason why you should
wish to go, and for my own part, so do I in f way. I
want to see what that old fellow has up his "remely
lon^ sleeve, if there is anything there at all."
'Well, if you ask me, Bickley," I answered, "i
believe it is the destruction of half the earth, or some
little matter of that sort."
At this suggestion Bickley only snorted, but Bastin
said cheerfully:
"I dare say. He is bad enough even for that. But
as I am quite convinced that it will never be allowed, his
intentions do not trouble me."
I remarked that he seemed to have carried their -lut
once before.
" Oh I you mean the Deluge. Well, no doubt there
was a deluge, but I am sure that Oro had no more to
do with It than you or I, as I think I have said already.
Anyhow it is impossible to leave you to descend into
that hole alone. I suggest, therefore, that we should go
into the sepulchre at the time which you believe Oro
appointed, and see what happens. If you are not mis-
taken, the Glittering Lady will come there to fetch us,
s
a78 When the World Shook
since it is quite certain that we cannot work tlie lift or
whatever it is, alone. If you are mistaken we can just
go back to bed as usual."
" Yes, that's the best p'an," said Bickley shortly,
after which the conversation came to an end.
All that day and the next I watched and waited in
vain for the coming of Yva, but no Yva appeared. I
even went as far as the sepulchre, but it was as empty
as were the two crystal coffins, and after waiting a while
I returned. Although I did not say so to Bickley, to
me it was evident that Oro, as he had said, was deter-
mined to cut off all communication between us.
The second day drew to its close. Our simple prepara-
tions were complete. They consisted mainly in making
ready our hurricane lamps and packing up a little food,
enough to keep us for three or four days if necessary,
together with some matches and a good supply of oil,
since, as Bastin put it, he was determined not to be
caught like the foolish virgins in the parable.
"You see," he added, "one never knows when it
might please that old wretch to turn off the incandescent
as or electric light, or whatever it is he uses to illumine
is family catacombs, and then it would be awkward if
we had no oil."
" For the matter of that he might steal our lamps,"
suggested Bickley, " in which case we should be where
Moses was when the light went out."
" I have considered that possibility," answered Bas-
tin, " and therefore, although it is a dangerous weapon
to carry loaded, I am determined to take mjr revolver.
If necessary I shall consider myself quite justified in
shooting him to save our lives and those of thousands of
others.'*^
At this we both laughed ; somehow the idea of Bastin
trying to shoot Oro struck us as intensely ludicrous.
Yet that very thing was to happen.
fl
It was a peculiarly beautiful sunset over the southern
seas. To the west the great flaming orb sank into the
ocean, to the east appeared the silver circle of the full
The Command 279
moon. To my excited fancy they were like scales hang-
ing from the hand of a materialised spirit of calm.
Over the volcano and the lake, over ihe island with
Its palm trees, over the seas beyond, this calm brooded.
i«ve for a few travelling birds the sky was empty ; no
cloud disturbed its peace; the world seemed steeped in
mnocence and quiet.
All these things struck me, as I think they did the
others, because by the action of some simultaneous
thought It came to our minds that very probably we
were looking on them for the last time. It is all very
well to talk of the Unknown and the Infinite whereof
we are assured we are the heirs, but that does not make
It any easier for us to part with the Known and the
Hnite. The contemplation of the wonders of Eternity
does not conceal the advantages of actual and existent
I !me. In short there is no one of us, from a sainted
archbishop down to a sinful suicide, who does not regret
the necessity of farewell to the pleasant light and the
kindly race of men wherewith we are acquainted.
For after all, who can be quite certain of the Beyond ?
It may be splendid, but it will probably be strange, and
from strangeness, after a certain age, we shrink. We
know that all things will be different there; that our
human relationships will be utterly changed, that per-
haps sex which shapes so many of them, will vanish to
be replaced by something unknown, that ambitions will
lose their hold of us, and that, at the best, the mere loss
of hopes and fears will leave us empty. So at least we
think, who seek not variation but continuance, since the
spirit must differ from the body and that thought alarms
our intelligence.
At least some of us think so; others, like Bickley,
write down the future as a black and endless night, which
after all has its consolations since, as has been wisely
suggested, perhaps oblivion is better than any memories.
Others again, like Bastin, would say of it with the
Frenchman, plus fa change, plus c'est la mime chose.
Yet others, like Ore, consider it as a realm of possi-
bilities, probably unpleasant and perhaps uon-exisient ;
28o When the World Shook
just this and nothing more. Only one thing is certain,
that no creature which has life desires to leap into the
fire and from the dross of doubts, to resolve the gold —
or the lead — of certainty.
"It is time to be going," said Bastin. "In these
skies the sun seems to tumble down, not to set decently
as it does in England, and if we wait any longer we shall
be late for our appointment in the sepulchre. I am
sorry because although I don't often notice scenery,
eveiything looks rather beautiful this evening. That
star, for instance, I think it is called Venus."
"And therefore one that Arbuthnot should admire,"
broke in Bickley attempting to lighten matters with a
joke. "But come on and let us be rid of this fool's
errand. Certainly the world is a lovely place after all,
and for my part I hope that we haven't seen the last of
it," he added with a sigh.
"So do I," said Bastin, "though of course, Faith
teaches us that there are much better ones beyond. It
is no use bothering about what they are like, but I hope
that the road to them doesn't run through the hole that
the old reprobate, Oro, calls Nyo."
A few minutes later we started, each of us carrying
his share of the impedimenta. I think that Tommy was
the only really cheerful member of the party, for he
skipped about and barked, running backwards and for-
wards into the mouth of the cave, as though to hurry our
movements.
" Really," said Bastin, " it is quite unholy to see an
animal going on [n that way when it knows that it is
about to descend into the bowels of the earth. I suppose
it must like them."
" Oh 1 no," commented Bickley, " it only likes what
is in them — like Arbuthnot. Since that little beast came
in contact with the Lady Yva, it has never been happy
out of her company."
"I think that is so," said Bastin. " At any rate I
have noticed that it has been moping for the last two
days, as it always does when she is not present. It even
seems to like Oro who gives me the creeps, perhaps be-
The Command
281
Dogs must be very charitable
cause he is her father,
animals."
By now we were in the cave marching past the wrecks
of the half-buried flying-machines, which Bickley, as
he remarked regretfully, had never found time
thoroughly to examine. Indeed, to do so would have
needed more digging than we could do without proper
mstruments, since the machines were big and deepiv
entombed in dust.
We came to the sepulchre and entered.
"Well," said Bickley, seating himself on the edge of
one of the coffins and holding up his lamp to look about
him, " this place seems fairly empty. No one is keeping
the assignation, Arbuthnot, although the sun is well
down."
As he spoke the words Yva stood before us. Whence
she came we did not see, for all our backs were turned
at the moment of her arrival. But there she was, calm,
beautiful, radiating light.
^f
CHAPTER XXIII
m
u
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I]
Iftii!
IN THE TEMPLE OF FATE
YvA glanced at me, and in her eyes I read tenderness
and solicitude, also something of inquiry. It seemed to
me as though she were wondering what I should do
under circumsUnces that might, or would, arise, and in
some secret fasiiion of which I was but half conscious,
drawing an answer from my soul. Then she turned,
and, smiling in h^r dazzling way, spid :
"So, Bickley, as usual, you did not believe? Because
you did not see him, therefore the Lord Oro, my father,
never spoke with Humphrey. As though the Lord Oro
could not pass you without your knowledge, or, per-
chance, send thoughts clothed in his own shnpe to work
his errand."
"How do you know that I did not believe Arbuth-
not's story?" Bickley asked in a rather cross voice and
avoiding the direct issue. "Do you also send thoughts
to work your errands cicthed in your own shape, Lady
Yva ? "
"Alasl not so, though perhaps I could if I might.
It is very simple, Bickley. Standing here, I heard you
s. that although the sun was well down there was no
one to meet you as Humphrey had expected, and from
those words and your voice I guessed the rest."
"Your knowledge of the English language is im-
proving fast, Lady Yva. Also, when I spoke, vou were
not here." ^
"At least I was very near, Bickley, and these walls
are thmner than you think," she answered, contem-
plating what seemed to be solid rock with eyes that were
full of innoce ;ce. "Oh I friend," she went on suddenly,
"I wonder what there is which will cause you to believe
282
In the Temple of Fate 283
that you do not know all ; that there exist many things
beyond the reach of your learninf; and imagination ?
Well, in a day or two, perhaps, even you will admit as
much, and confess it to me — elsewhere,^' and she sighed.
"I am ready to confess now that much happens
which I do not understand at present, because I have
not the key to the trick," he replied.
Yva shook her head at him and smiled again. Then
she motioned to all of us to stand close to her, and,
stooping, lifted Tommy in her arms. Next moment that
marvel happened which I have described already, and
we were whirling downwards through space, to find our-
selves in a very little time standing safe in the caves of
Nyo, breathless with the swiftness of our descent. How
and on what we descended neither I nor the others ever
learned. It was and must remain one of the unexplained
mysteries of our great experience.
"Whither now, Yva?" I asked, staring about me at
the radiant vastness.
"The Lord Oro would speak with you, Humphrey.
Follow. And I pray you all do not make him wrath, for
his mood is not gentle."
So once more we proceeded down the empty streets of
that underground abode which, except that it was better
illuminated, reminded me of the Greek conception of
Hades. We came to the sacred fountain over which
stood the guardian statue of Life, pouring from the cups
she held the waters of Good and 111 that mingled into
onr health-giving wine.
" Drink, all of you," she said ; " for I think before the
sun sets again upon the earth we shall need strength,
every one of us."
So we drank, and she drank herself, and once more
felt the blood go dancing through our veins as though
the draught had been some nectar of the gods. Then,
having extinguished the lanterns which we still carried,
for here they were needless, and we wished to save our
oil, we followed her through the great doors into the
vast hall of audience and advanced up it between the
endless, empty seats. At its head, on the dais beneath
a
284 When the World Shook
the arching shell, sat Oro on his throne. As before he
wore the jewelled cap and the gorgeous, flowing robes,
while the table in front of him was still strewn with
sheets of metal on which he wrote with a pen, or stylus,
Ujat glittered like a diamond or his own fierce eyes
Then he lifted his head and beckoned to us to ascend
the dais.
"You are here. It is well," he said, which was all
his greeting. Only when Tommy ran up to him he
bent down and patted the dog's head with his long, thin
hand, and, as he did so, his face softened. It was
evident to me that Tommy was more welcome to him
than were the rest of us.
There was a long silence while, one by one, he
Marched us with his piercing glance. It rested on me,
the last of the three of us, and from me travelled to
Yva.
"I wonder why I have sent for you?" he said at
length, with a mirthless laugh. "I think it must be
that I may convince Bickley, the sceptic, that there are
powers which he does not understand, but that I have
the strength to move. Also, perhaps, that your lives
may be spared for my own purposes in that which is
about to happen. Hearken I My labours are finishtd ;
my calculations are complete," and he pointed to the
sheets of metal before him that were covered with cabaU
istic signs. "To-morrow I am about to do what once
before I did and to plunge half the world in the deeps
of ocean and lift again from the depths that which has
been buried for a quarter of a million years."
]| Which hr f ? " asked Bickley.
"That is my secret. Physician, and the answer to it
lies written here in signs you cannot read. Certain
countries will vanish, others will be spared. I say that
it is my secret." '
"Then. Oro, if you could do what you threaten, you
would drown hundreds of millions of people."
, "." ' <=°i'.'^ .^Jo ' " I could do!" he exclaimed,
glaring at Bickley. "Well, to-morrow you shall see
what I can do. Oh 1 why do I grow angry with this
In the Temple of Fate 285
fool? For the rest, yes, they must drown. What does
It matter (• I heir end will be swift; some few minutes
ot terror, that is all, and in one short century every one
of them would have been dead."
An expression of horror gathered on Bastin's face
r.t . ^?» [*"">; ""Z^" *° murder hundreds of millions
of people?" he asked, in a thick, slow voice.
I have said that I intend to send them to that
heaven or that hell of which you are so fond of talkinir.
Preacher, somewhat more quickly than otherwise they
would have found their way thither. They have disati
pointed me, they have failed; therefore, let them jro and
make room for others who will succeed."
'I'Ju^" /°^ "^- * greater assassin than any that the
world has bred, or than all of them put together. There
IS nobody as bad, even in the Book of Revelation I "
shouted Bastin in a kind of fury. "Moreover, I am not
like Bickley. I know enough of you and your hellish
P°T,'"VJ.''*^''^''^ *•'*' *'•'*' yo" P'an. that you can do."
* .1, \ u T '^ ^^•" ^"^""^ O'o- "But how comes
It that the Great One whom you worship does not pre-
vent the deed, if He exists, and it be evil?"
" He will prevent it I " raved Bastin. " Even now He
commands me to prevent it, and I obey I " Then, draw-
ing the revolver from his pocket, he pointed it at Oro's
•??f'.. '"i^.' "Swear not to commit this crime, or I
will kill you !
"So the man of peace would become a man of blood,"
mused Oro, "and kill that / may not kill for the good of
the world? Why, what is the matter with that toy of
^°^ixf Preacher?" and he pointed to the pistol.
Well might he ask, for as he spoke the revolver
flew out of Bastin's hand. High into the air it flew,
and as it went discharged itself, all the six chambers of
It, m rapid succession, while Bastin stood staring at his
ann and hand which he seemed unable to withdraw.
Do you still threaten me with that outstretched
hand. Preacher?" mocked Oro.
"I can't move it," said Bastin; "it seems turned to
stone.
i i
J-
S
a86 When the World Shook
"Be thankful that you also are not turned to stone.
But, because your courage pleaser me, I will spare you,
yes, and will advance you in my New Kingdom. What
shall you be ? Controller of Religions, I think, since all
the qualities that a high priest should have are yours —
faith, fanaticism and tolly."
" It is very strange," said Bastin, "but all of a sudden
my arm ana hand are quite well again. I suppose it
must have been 'pins and needles,* or something of
that sort which made me throw away the pistol and pull
the trigger when I didn't mean to do so."
Then he went to fetch that article which had fallen
beyond the dais, and quite forgot his intention of ex-
ecuting Oro in the interest of testing its mechanism,
which proved to^ be destroyed. To his proposed
appointment he made no allusfon. If he comprehended
what was meant, which I doubt, he took it as a ioke.
"Hearken all of you," said Oro, lifting his head
suddenly, for while Bastin recovered the revolver he
had been brooding. "The great thing which I shall
do to-morrow must be witnessed by you because thereby
only can you come to understand my powers. Also
yonder where I brinfc it about in the bowels of the
earth, you v. ill be safer than elsewhere, since when and
perhaps before it happens, the whole world will heave
and shake and tremble, and I know not what may
chance, even in these caves. For this reason also, do
not forget to bring the little hound with you, since him
least of all of you would I see come to harm, perhaps
because once, hundreds of generations ago as you
reckon time, I had a dog very like to him. Your mother
loved him much, Yva, and when she died, this dog died
also. He lies embalmed with her on her coffin yonder
in the temple, and yesterday T went to look at both of
them. The beasts are wonderfully alike, which shows
the /^yerlastingness of blood."
1 -e paused a while, lost in thought, then continued :
"After the deed is done I'll speak with you and you
shall choose. Strangers, whether you will die your own
masters, or live on to serve me. Now there is one
In the Temple of Fate 287
problem tliat is left to me to solve— whether I can save
a certain land— <io not ask which it is, Humphrey,
though I see the question in your eyes— or must let it
go with the rest. 1 only answer you thrr I will do my
best because you love it. So farewell for a while, and,
Preacher, be advised by me and do not aim too hieh
again." "
"It doesn't matter where I aim," answered Bastin
sturdily, "or whether I hit or miss, since there is some-
thing much bigger than me waiting to deal with you.
The countries that you think you are going to destroy
will sleep quite as well to-morrow as they do to-night,
"Much better, I think. Preacher, since by then they
will have left sorrow and pain and wickedness and war
far behind t -em."
"Where are we to go?" I asked.
"The Lsdy Yva will show you," he answered,
waving his hand, and once more liient over hirs endless
calculations.
Yva beckoned to us and we turned and followed her
down the hall. She led us to a street near the gateway
of the temple and th<^nce into one of the houses. There
was a portico to it leading to a court out of which
opened rooms somewhat in the Pompeian fashion. We
did not enter the rooms, for at the end of the court were
a metal table and three couches also of metal, on which
were spread rich-looking rugs. Whence these came I
do not know and never asked, but I remember that they
were very beautiful and soft as velvet.
"Here you may sleep," she said, "if sleep you can,
and eat of the food that you have brought with you.
To-morrow earlv I will call you when it is time for tis to
start upon our journey into the bowels of the earth."
"I don't want to go anv deeper than we are," said
Basiin doubtfully.
"1 think that none of us want to go, Bastin," she
answered with a sigh. "Yet go we must. I pray of
you, anger the Lord Oro no more on this or anv other
matter. In your folly you tried to kill him, and as it
m
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288 When the World Shook
chanced he bore it well because lie loves courag^e. But
another time he may strike back, and then, Bastin "
"I am not afraid of him," he answered, "but I do
not like tunnels. Still, perhaps it would be better to
accompany you than to be left in this place alone. Now
I will unpack the food."
Yva turned to go.
"I must leave you," she said, "since mv father needs
my help. The matter has to do with the 'Force that he
would let loose to-morrow, and its measurement; also
with the preparation of the robes that we must wear lest
it should harm us in its leap."
Something in her eyes told me that she wished me
to follow her, and I did so. Outside the portico where
we stood in the desolate, lighted street, she halted.
"If you are not afraid," she said, "meet me at mid-
night by the statue of Fate in the great temple, for I
would speak with you, Humphrey, where, if anywhere,
we may be alone."
"I will come, Yva."
"You know the road, and the gates are open,
Humphrey."
Then she gave me her hand to kiss and glided away.
I returned to the others and we ate, somewhat
sparingly, for we wished to save our food in case of need,
and having drunk of the Life-water, were not hungry.
Also we talked a little, but by common consent avoided
the subject of the morrow anci what it might bring forth.
We knew that terrible things were afoot, but lacking
any knowledge of what these might be, thought it use-
less to discuss them. Indeed we were too depressed, so
much so that even Bastin and Bickley ceased from
arguing. The latter was so overcome by the exhibition
of Oro s powers when he caused the pistol to leap into
the air and discharge itself, that he could not even
pluck up courage to laugh at the failure of Bastin's
efforts to do justice on the old Super-man, or rather to
prevent him from attempting a colossal crime.
At length we lay down on the couches to rest, Bastin
'remarking that he wished he could turn off the light,
In the Temple of Fate 289
also that he did not in the least regret having tried to
kill Oro. Sleep seemed to come to the others quickly,
but I could only doze, to wake up from time to time.
Of this I was not sorry, since whenever I dropped off
dreams seemed to pursue me. For the most part they
were of my dead wife. She appeared to be trying to
console me for some loss, but the strange thing was
that sometimes she spoke with her own voice and some-
times with Yva's, and sometimes looked at me with her
own eyes ana sometines with those of Yva. I remem-
ber nothing else about these dreams, which were very
confused.
After one of them, the most vivid of all, I awoke and
looked at my watch. It was half-past e'even, almost
time for me to be starting. The other two seemed to be
fast asleep. Presently I rose and crept down the court
without waking them. Outside the portico, which by
the way was a ci-rious example of the survival of
custom in architecture, since none was needed in that
weatherless place, I turned to the right and followed the
wide street to the temple enclosure. Through the
pillared courts I went, my footsteps, although I walked
as softly as I could, echoing loudly in that intense
silence, through the great doors into the utter solitude
of the vast and perfect fane.
Words cannot tell the loneliness of that place. It
flowed over me like a sea and seemed to swallow up my
being, so that even the wildest and most dangerous
beast would have been welcome as a companion. I was
as terrified as a child that wakes to find itself deserted
in the dark. Also an uncanny sense of terrors to come
oppressed me, till I could have cried aloud if only to
hear the sound of a mortal voice. Yonder was the grim
statue of Fate, the Oracle of the Kings of the Sons of
Wisdom, which was believed to bow its stony head in
answer to their prayers. I ran to it, eager for its terrible
shelter, for on either side of it were figures of ' n
beings. Even their cold marble was company o. • : rt,
though alas ! over all frowned Fate.
Let anyone imagine himself standing alone beneath
390 When the World Shook
the dome of St. Paul's; in the centre of that catheural
brilliant with mysterious light, and stretched all about it
a London that had been dead and absolutely unpeopled
for tens of thousands of years. If he can do this he
will gather some idea of my physical state. Let him
add to his mind-picture a knowledge that on the follow-
ing day something was to happen not unlike the end of
the world, as prognosticated by the Book of Revelation
and by most astronomers, and he will have some idea of
my mental p turbations. Add to the mixture a most
mystic yet vti^ real love affair and an assignation be-
fore that symbol of the cold fate which seems to sway the
universes down to the tiniest detail of individual lives,
and he may begin to understond what I, Humphrey
Arbuthnot, experienced during my vigil in this
sanctuary of a vanished race.
It seemed long before Yva came, but at last she
did come. I caught sight of her far away beyond the
temple gate, flitting through the unholy brigntness of
the pillared courts like a white rnoth at night and seem-
ing quite as small. She approached; now she was as a
ghost, and then drawing near, changed into a living,
breathing, lovely woman. I opened my arms, and with
something like a sob she sank into them and we kissed
as mortals do.
"I could not come more quickly," she said. "The
Lord Oro needed me, and those calculations were long
and difliciilt. Also twice he must visit the place
whither we shall go to-morrow, and that took time."
"Then it is close at hand?" I said.
"Ilumph.'ey, be not foolish. Do you not remember,
who have travelled with him, that Oro can throw his
soul afar and bring it back again laden with knowledge,
as the feet of a bee are laden with golden dust ? Well,
he went and went again, and I must wait. And thrn the
robes and shields; chey must be prepared by his arts
and mine. Oh I ask not what they are, there is no time
to tell, and it matters nothing. Some folk are wise and
some are foolish, but all which matters is that within
them flows the blood of life and that life breeds love, and
In the Temple of Fate tgi
that love, as I believe, although Ore does not, breeds im-
mortality. And if so, what is Time but as a grain of
sand upon the shore ? "
"This, Vvaj it is ours, who can count on nothine
else." *
"Oh I Humphrey, if I thuoght that, no more
wretched creature would breathe to-night upon this
great world."
"What do you mean?" I asked, growing fearful,
more at her manner and her took than at her words.
"Nothing, nothing, except that Time is so very
short. A kiss, a touch, a little light and a little dark-
ness, and it is gone. Ask mv father Oro who has lived
a thousand years and slept for tens of thousands, as I
have, and he will say the same. It is against Time that
he tights; he who, believing in nothing beyond, will in-
herit nothing, as Bastin saysj he to whom Time has
brought nothing save a passing, blood-stained great-
ness, and triumph ending in darkness and disaster, and
hope that will surely suffer hope's eclipse, and power
that must lav down its coronet m dust."
"And what has it brought to you, Yva, beyond a
fair body and a soul of strength ?"
"It has brought a spirit, Humphrey. Between them
the body and the soul have bred a spirit, and in the fires
of tribulation from that spirit has been distilled the
essence of eternal love. That is Time's gift to me, and
therefore, ahhough still he rules me here, I mock at
Fate," and she waved her hand with a gesture of defiance
at the stern-faced, sexless eiBgy which sat above us, the
sword across its knees.
"Look I Look 1 " she went on in a swelling voice of
music, pointing to the statues of the dotard and the
beauteous woman. "They implore Fate, they worship
Fate. / do not implore, /do not worship or ask a sign
as even Oro does and as did his forefathers. / rise
above and triumph. As Fate, the god of my people,
sets his foot upon the sun, so I set my foot upon Fate,
and thence, like a swimmer from a rock, leap into the
waters of Immortality."
■•■J '
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292 When the World Shook
I looked at her whose presence, as happened from
time to time, had grown majestic beyond that of
woman; I studied her deep eyes which were full of
lights, not of this world, and I grew afraid.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "Yva, you talk
like one who has finished with life."
"It passes," she answered quickly. "Life passes
like breath fading from a mirror. So should all talk
who breathe beneath the sun."
"Yes, Yva, but if you went and left me still breath-
ing on that mocking glass "
" If so, what of It ? Will not your breath fade also
and join mine where all vapours go? Or if it were
yours that faded and mine that remained for some few
hours, is it not t^e same? I think, Humphrey, that
already you have seen a beloved breath melt from the
glass of life," she added, looking at me earnestly.
I bowed my head and answered :
"Yes, and therefore I am ashamed."
"Oh I why should you be ashamed, Humphrey,
who are not sure but that two breaths may yet be one
breath? How do you know that there is a difference
between them?"
"You drive me mad, Yva. I cannot understand."
"Nor can I altogether, Humphrey. Why should I,
seeing that I am no more than woman, as you are no
more than man? I would always have you remember,
Humphrey, that I am no spirit or sorceress, but just a
woman — like her you lost."
I looked at her doubtfully and answered :
"Women do not sleep for two hundred thousand
years. Women do not take dream journeys to the
stars. Women do not make the dead past live again
before the watcher's eyes. Their hair does not glimmer
in the dusk nor do their bodies gleam, nor have they
such strength of soul or eyes so wonderful, or loveliness
so great."
These words appeared to distress her who, as it
seemed to me, was above all things anxious to prove
herself woman and no more.
In the Temple of Fate 293
"All these qualities are nothing, Humphrey," she
cried. "As for the JDeauty, such as it is, it comes to me
with my blood, and with it the glitter of my hair which
is the heritage of those who for generations have drunk
of the Life-water. My motlier was lovelier than I, as
was her mother, or so I have heard, since only the
fairest were the wives of the Kings of the Children of
Wisdom. For the rest, such arts as I have spring not
from magic, but from knowledge which your people
will acquire in days to come, that is, if Oro spares them.
Surely you above all should know that I am only
woman, she added very slowly and searching my face
with her eyes.
"Why, Yva? During the little while that we have
been together I have seen much which makes me doubt.
Even Bickley the sceptic doubts also."
"I will tell you, though I am not sure that you will
believe me." She glanced about her as though she
were frightened lest someone should overheai her words
or read her thoughts. Then she stretched out her
hands and drawing my head towards her, put her lips
to my ear and whispered :
"Because once you saw me die, as women often die
— giving life for life."
"I saw you die?" I gasped.
She nodded, then continued to whisper in my ear,
not in her own voice, but another's :
"Go where you seem called to go, far away. Oh!
the wonderful place in which you will find me, not
knowing that you have found me. Good-bye for a
little while; only for a little while, my own, my
own ! "
I knew the voice as I knew the words, and knowing,
I think that I should have fallen to the ground, had she
not supported me with her strong arms.
"Who told you?" I stammered. "Was it Bickley
or Bastin ? They knew, though neither of them heard
those holy words."
"Not Bickley nor Bastin," she answered, shaking her
head, " no, nor you yourself, awake or sleeping, though
294 When the World Shook
. »? I
Si
once, by the lake yonder, you said to me that when a
certain one lay dying, she bade you seek her elsewhere,
for certainly you would find her. Humphrey, I cannot
say who told me those words because I do not know. /
think they are a memory, Humphrey!"
"That would mean that you, Yva, are the same as
one who was — not called Yva."
"The same as one who was called Natalie, Hum-
phrey," she replied in solemn accents. "One whom you
loved and whom you lost."
"Then you think that ,we live again upon this
earth?" s i~
"Again and yet again, until the time comes for us
to leave the earth for ever. Of this, incieed, I am sure,
for that knowledge was part of the secret wisdom of
my people."
"But you were not dead. You only slept."
"The sleep was a death-sleep which went by like a
flash, yes, in an instant, or so it seemed. Only the shell
of the body remained preserved by mortal arts, and
when the returning spirit and the light of life were
poured into it again, it awoke. But during this long
death-sleep, that spirit may have spoken through other
lips and that light may have shone through other eyes,
though of these I remember nothing."
"Then that dream of our visit to a certain star may
be no dream ? "
" I think no dream, and you, too, have thought as
much."*
"In a way, yes. Yva. But I could not believe and
turned from what I held to be a phantasy."
"It was natural, Humphrey, that you should not
believe. Hearken ! In this temple a while ago I showed
you a picture of myself and of a man who loved me and
whom I loved, and of his death at Oro's hands. Did
you note an3rthing about that man ?"
"BIckley did," I answered. "Was he right?"
" I think that he was ri^ht, since otherwise I should
not have loved you, Humphrey."
"I remember nothing of that man, Yva."
in this
for us
In the Temple of Fate 295
"It is probable that you would not, since you and
ilde s^'^o'dL^f • T"*^*'""^" y°" ^"<1 h'-" flow
wioe seas of death, wherein are set islands of life-
^rhaps many of them. But I remember much who
seem to have left him but a very little while ago "
When you awoke in your coffin and threw vour
arms about me, what did you think, Yva? •' ^
1 thought you were that man, Humphrey."
rhere was silence between us and in that silence the
truth came home to me. Then there before he effigy
of Fate and m the desolate, glowing temple we pligffi
wo7deZi;redTi?^.''°'^ ""' 'p-^''- '»>- -
Of this consecrated hour I say no more. Let each
^cture ,t as he will. A glory as ^f heaven fell u?on us
and m it we dwelt a space. ^
„,"^^'P''S^'" l*"^ whispered at length in a voice that
was choked as though with tears, "if it chan Js that we
should be separated again for a little while, y^u ^ifln^t
gneve over much ? " i .r"" """ noi
"Knowing all I should try not to grieve Yva
"Being mortal either of us mieht seem tn Hi»
h^rTfce'^-Vofknol*""^ her head fs\h^g"h I hll^e
"n^ /^ " ^"i?"*^ ^^ «f° '"'o danger" this day."
^.r^A A P'°/«?"y purpose to destrc much of the
world and has he in truth the power, Yva?"
He does so purpose and most certainly he has thp
hrhand."'""-""^"' ^"^ °^''«^ Power 'should 'sL\"
" What other power, Yva ? "
is iued'fi^^Vh''^^ *''''=? y**" ^"'■^'^'P' *hat which
Mere of IZ T ^ '""^ °^ r" ""^y ^^«« 'he mas-
sacre of men I hope so with all my heart. Hist I
2a^rh°nf''- ^^'''' ^ ''""^r*^^' "e comes, though noHn
FoToll".^ ?w°iftly."^^ '^' ^^-^ '"^ ^hought^o-night.
She sped across the temple to where a chapel opened
t 1
296 When the World Shook
out of it, which was full of the statues of dead kings, foi
here was the entrance to their burial vault. We reached
it and hid behind the base of one of these statues. B\
standing to our full height, without being seen we still
could see between the feet of the statue that stood upor
a pedestal.
Then Oro came.
CHAPTER XXIV
THE CHARIOT OF THE PIT
Org came and of necessity alone. Yet there was that
tn his air as he advanced into the Temple, which sug-
gested a monarch surrounded by the pomp and panoply
of a great court. He marched, his head held high, m
though heralds and pursuivants went in front of him,
as though nobles surrounded him and guards or
regiment: followed after him. Let it be admitted that
he was a great figure in his gorgeous robes, with his
long white beard, his hawk-like features, his tall shape
and his glittering eyes, which even at that distance I
could see. Indeed once or twice I thought that he
glanced out of the corners of them towards the chapel
where we were hid. But this I think was fancy. For
as Yva said, his thoughts were set elsewhere.
He reached the statue of Fate and stood for a while
cwitemplating it and the suppliant figures on either
side, as though he were waiting for his invisible court
to arrange itself. Then he doffed his jewelled cap to
the effigy, and knelt before it. Yes, Oro the Ancient,
the Super-man, the God, as the early peoples of the earth
fancied such a being, namely, one full of wrath, re-
venge, jealousy, caprice and power, knelt in supplica-
tion to this image of stone which he believed to be the
home of a spirit, thereby showing himself to be after all
"o* so far removed from the savages whose idol Bastin
had destroyed. More, in a clear and resonant voice
which reached us even across that great space, he put
up his prayer. It ran something as follows, for
although I did not understand the language in which
be spoke Yva translated it to me in a whisper :
"God of the Sons of Wisdom, God of the whole
397
298 When the World Shook
earth, only God to whom must bow every other Power
and Dominion, to thee I, Oro the Gre;- King, make
prayer and offer sacrifice. Twenty times ten thousand
years and more have gone by since I, Oro, visited this,
thy temple and knelt before this, thy living effigy, yet
thou, ruler of the world, dost remember tne prayer I
made and the sacrifice I offered. The prayer was for
triumph over my enemies and the sacrifice a promise of
the lives of half of those who in that day dwelt upon the
earth. Thou heardest the prayer, thou didst bow thy
head and accept the sacrifice. Yea, the prayer was
granted and the sacrifice was made, and in it were
counted the number of my foes.
"Then I slept. Through countless generations I
slept on and at my side was the one child of my body
that was left to me. What chanced to my spirit and to
hers during that sleep, thou knowest alone, but doubt-
less they went forth to work thy ends.
"At the appointed time which thou didst decree, I
awoke aeain and found in my house strangers from
another land. In the i;ompany of one of these whose
spirit I drew forth, I visited the peoples of the new
earth, and found them even baser and more evil than
those whom I had known. Therefore, since they can-
not be bettered, I purpose to destroy them also, and on
their wreck to rebuild a glorious empire, such as was
that of the Sons of Wisdom at its prime.
"A sign I O Fate, ruler of the world, give me a
sign that my desire shall be f" '.filled."
He paused, stretching out his arms and staring up-
wards. While he waited ^ felt the solid rock on which
I stood quiver and sway beneath my feet so that Yva
and I clung to each other lest we should fall. This
chanced also. The shock of the earth tremor, for such
without doubt it was, threw down the figures of the
ancient man and the lovely woman which knelt as
though making prayers to Fate, and shook the marble
sword from off its knees. As it fell Oro caught it by
the hilt, and, rising, waved it in triumph.
The Chariot of the Pit
299
"I thank thee, God of my people from the begin-
ning," he cried. "Thou hast |^iven to me, thy last ser-
vant, thine own sword and 1 will use it well. For these
worshippers of thine who have fallen, thou shalt have
others, yes, all those who dwell in the new world that
is to be. My daughter and the man whom she has
chosen to be the father of the kines of the earth, and
with him his companions, shall l)e the first of the
hundreds of millions that are to follow, for they shall
kiss thy feet or perish. Thou shalt set thy foot upon
the necks of all other gods; thou shalt rule and thou
alone, and, as of old, Oro will be thy minister."
Still holding the sword, he flung himself down as
though in an edstasy, and was silent.
"I read the omen otherwise," whispered Yva. "The
worshippers of Fate are overthrown. His sword of
power is fallen, but not into the hands that clasped it,
and he totters on his throne. A greater God asserts
dominion of the world and this Fate is but his instru-
ment."
Oro rose again.
"One prayer more," he cried. "Give me life, long
life, that I may execute thy decrees. By word or
gesture show me a sign that I shall be satisfied with
life, a year for every year that I have lived, or twain ! "
He waited, staring about him, but no token came;
the idol did not speak or bow its head, as Yva had told
me it was wont to do in sign of accepted prayer, how, she
knew not. Only I thought I heard the echo of Oro's cries
run in a whisper of mockery round the soaring dome.
Once more Oro flunjEj himself upon his knees and
began to pray in a veritable agony.
"God of my forefathers, God of my lost people, I
will hide naught from thee," he said. "I who fear
nothing else, fear death. That priest-fool yonder with
his new faith, has spoken blundering words of judgment
and damnation which, though I do not believe them,
yet stick in my heart like arrows. I will stamp out his
faith, and with this ancient sword of thine drive back
the new gods into the darkness whence they came. Yet
N :
300 When the World Shook
what If some water of Truth flows through the channel
of his leaden lips, and what if because I have ruled and
will rule as thou didst decree, therefore, in some dim
place of souls, I must bear these burdens of terror and
of doom which I have bound upon the backs of others I
Nay, it cannot be, for what power is there in all the
universe that dares to make a slave of Oro and to aflSict
him with stripes ?
" Yet this can be and mayhap will be, that presently
I lose my path in the ways of everlasting darkness, and
become strengthless and forgotten as are those who
went before me, while my crown of Power shines on
younger brows. Alas I I grow old, since aeons of sleep
have not renewed my strength. My time is short and
yet I would not die as mortals must. Oh ! God of my
people, whom I have served so well, save me from the
death I dread. For I would not die. Give me a sign ;
give me the ancient, sacred sign 1 "
So he spoke, lifting his proud and splendid head
and watching the statue with wide, expectant eyes.
"Thou dost not answer," he cried again. "Wouldst
thou desert me, Fate ? Then beware lest I set up some
new god against thee and hurl thee from thine im-
memorial throne. While I live I still have powers, I
who am the last of thy worshippers, since it seems that
my daughter turns her back on thee. I will get me to
the sepulchre of the kings and take counsel with the dust
of that wizard who first taught me wisdom. Even from
the depths of death he must come to my call clad in a
mockery of life, and comfort me. A little while yet I
will wait, and if thou answer not, then Fate, soon I'll
tear the sceptre from thv hand, and thou shall join the
company of dead gods." And throwing aside the
sword, again Oro laid down his head upon the ground
and stretched out his arms in the last abasement of
supplication.
"Come," whispered Yva, "while there is yet time.
Presently he will seek this place to descend to the
sepulchre, and if he learns that we have read his heart
and know him for a coward deserted of his outworn
The Chariot of the Pit 301
god, surely he will blot us out. Come, and be swift
and silent."
We crept out of the chapel, Yva leading, and along
^e circle of the great dome till we reached the gates.
Here I elanced back and perceived that Oro, looking
unutterably small in that vastness, looking like a dead
man, still lay outstretched before the stern-faced, un-
answering Effigy which, with all his wisdom, he be-
lieved to be living and divine. Perhaps once it was,
but if so its star had set for ever, like those of Amon,
Jupiter and Baal, and he was its last worshipper.
Now we were safe, but still we sped on till we
reached the portico of our sleeping place. Then Yva
turned and spoke.
"It is horrible." she said, "and my soul sickens. Oh,
I thank the Strength which made it that I have no
desire to rule the earth, and, being innocent of death, do
not fear to die and cross his threshold."
"Yes, it is horrible," I answered. "Yet all men
fear death."
" Not when they have found love, Humphrey, for
that I think is his true name, and, with it written on his
brow, he stands upon the neck of Fate who is still my
father's god." '
"Then he is not yours, Yva?"
"Nay. Once it was so, but now I reject him; he is
no longer mine. As Oro threatens, and perchance dare
do in his rage, I have broken his chain, though in an-
other fashion. Ask me no more; perhaps one day you
will learn the path I trod to freedom."
Then before I could speak, she went on :
"Rest now, for within a ftw hours I must come to
lead you and your companions to a terrible place. Yet
whatever you may see or hear, be not afraid, Hum-
phrey, for I think that Oro's god has no power over
you, strong though he was, and that Oro's plans will
fail, while I, who too have knowledge, shall find
strength to save the world."
Then of a sudden, once again she grew splendid,
almost divine; no more a woman but as it were an
(••«'
302 When the World Shook
angel. Some fire of pure purpose seemed to burn up
in ner and to shine out of her eyes. Yet she said little.
Only this indeed :
"To everyone, I think, there comes the moment of
opportunity when choice musi be made between what
is (Treat and what is smtii, between self and its desires
and the good of other wanderers in the way. This day
that moment may draw near to you or me, and if so,
surely we shall ^reet it well. Such is Bastin's lesson,
which I have striven to learn."
Then she flung her arms about me and kissed me on
the brow as a mother might, and was gone.
Strangely enough, perhaps because of my mental
exhaustion, for what I had passed through seemed tc
overwhelm me so that I could no longer so much as
think with clearness, even after all that I have described
I slept like a child and awoke refreshed and well.
I looked at my watch to find that it was now eighl
o'clock in the morning in this horrible place where
there was neither morn, nor noon, nor night, but onl}
an eternal brightness that came I knew not whence, and
never learned.
I found that I was alone, since Bickley and Bastir
had gone to fill our bottles with the Life-water. Pre^
sently they returned and we ate a little ; with that wate:
to drink one did not need much food. It was a somC'
what silent meal, for our circumstances were a check or
talk; moreover, I thought that the others looked at mt
rather oddly. Perhaps they guessed something of mj
midnight visit to the temple, but if so they thought r
wisest to say nothing. Nor did I enlighten them.
Shortly after we had finished Yva appeared. Sh(
was wonderfully quiet and gentle in her manner, caln
also, and (yreeted all of us with much sweetness. O
our experiences during the night she said no word t(
me, even when we were alone. One difference I noticec
about her, however; that she was clothed in garment
such as I had never seen her wear before. They wen
close fitting, save for a flowing cape, and made of somi
The Chariot of the Pit 303
gny material, not unlike a coarae homespun or even
asbestos cloth. Still they became her very well, and
when I remarked upon them, all she answered was that
SJ^wirh'Tl ""?■'** ^^ [?"«''• Even her feet were
shod with high buskms of this grey stuff.
Presently she touched Bastin on the shoulder and
said that she would speak with him apart. They went
ogether into one of the chambers of that dwellinir and
here remauied for perhaps the half of an hour, ft was
towards the end of this time that in the intense silence
1 heard a crash coming from the direction of the
Temple, u though something heavy had fallen to
the rocky floor. Bickley also heard this sound. When
the two reappeared I noticed that though still quite
calm, V va looked radiant, and, if I may say so, even
more human and womanly than I had ever seen her.
while Bastin also seemed very happy.
"One has strange experiences in life, yes, very
strange, he remarked, apparently addressing the air,
which left me wondering to what particular experience
he might refer. Well, Ithought that I could guess.
Friends," said Yva, "it is time for us to be going
and I am your guide. You will meet the Lord Ore at
he end of your journey. I pray you to bring those
lanips of yours with you, since all the road is not
lighted like this place.''
"I should like to ask," said Bickley, "whither we go
and for what object, points on which up to the present
we have had no definite information."
"We go, friend Bickley, deep into the bowels of the
world, far deeper, I think, than any mortal men have
gone hitherto, that is, of your race."'
"Then we shall perish of heat," said Bickley, "for with
every thousand feet the temperature rises many degrees."
"Not so. You will pass throucrh a zone of heat, but
so swiftly that if you hold your breath you will not
suffer overmuch. Then you will come to a place where
a great draught blows which will keep you cool, and
thence travel >n to the end."
"Yes, but to what end Ladv Yva?"
u
r>
:^
-A
:]
304 When the World Shook
"That you will see for yourwlves, and with it other
wondrous things."
Here some new idea seemed to strike her, and after
a little hesiution she added :
"Yet why should you go? Oro has commanded it,
it is true, but I think that at the last he will forget. It
must be decided swiftly. There is yet time. I can
place you in safety in the sepufchre of Sleep where you
tound us. Thence cross to the main island and sail
away quickly in your boat out into the great sea, where
I believe you will find succour. Know that after dis-
obeying him, vou must meet Oro no more lest it should
be the worse for you. If that be your will, let us start.
What say you ? "
She looked at me.
"I say, Yva, that I am willing to go if you come
with us. Not otherwise."
"I say," said Bickley, 'that I want to see all this
supernatural rubbish thoroughly exploded, and that
therefore I should prefer to go on with the business."
"And I say," said Bastin, "that my most earnest
desire is to be clear of the whole thing, which wearies
and perplexes me more than I can tell. Only I am not
going to run away, unless you think it desirable to do
so too. Lady Yva. I want you to understand that I am
not in the least afraid of the Lord Oro, and do not for
one moment believe that he will be allowed to bring
about disaster to the world, as I understand is his
wicked object. Therefore on the whole I am indifferent
and quite prepared to accept any decision at which the
rest of you may arrive."
"Be it understood," said Yva with a little smile
when Bastin had finished his sermonette, "that I must
join my father in the bowels of the earth for a reason
which will be made plain afterwards. Therefore, if you
go we part, as I think to meet no more. Still my
advice is that you should go." •
* It It fortunate that we did not accept Yva'a offer. Had we done
ao we ihonld have found oaTselves ahnt in, and perished, a* diaO
be told.— H. A.
The Chariot of the Pit 305
To this our only answer was lo attend to the lighting
01 our lamps and the disposal of our small impedimenta,
such as our tins of oil and water bottles. Yva noted this
and laughed outright.
"Courage did not die with the Sons of Wisdom."
she said.
Then we set out, Yva walking ahead of us and
Tommy frisking at her side.
Our road led us through the temple. As we passed
the great gates I started, for there, in the centre of that
glorious building, I perceived a change. The statue of
Fate was no more I It lay broken upon the pavement
among those fragments of its two worshippers which I
had seen shaken down some hours before.
"What does this mean?" I whispered to Yva. "I
have felt no other earthquake."
"I do not know," she answered, "or if I know I may
not say. Yet learn that no god can live on without a
single worshipper, and, in a fashion, that idol was alive,
though this you will not believe."
"How very remarkable," said Bastin contemplating
the ruin. "If I were superstitious, which I am not, I
should say that this occurrence was an omen indicating
the final fall of a false god. At any rate it is dead now,
and I wonder what caused it ? "
"I felt an earth tremor last night," said Bickley,
"though it is odd that it should only have affected this
particular statue. A thousand pities, for it was a
wonderful work of art."
Then I remembered and reminded Bickley of the
crash w' "ch we had heard while Yva and Bastin were
absent on some secret business in the chamber.
Walking the length of the great church, if so it
could be called, we came to an apse at the head of it
where, had it been Christian, the altar would have
stood. In this apse was a little open door through
which we passed. Beyond it lay a space of rough rock
that looked as though it had been partially prepared for
the erection of buildings and then abandoned. All this
space was lighted, however, like the rest of the City of
306 When the World Shook
Nyo, and in the same mysterious way. Led by Yva,
we threaded our path between the rough stones, following
a steep downward slope. Thus we walked for perhaps
half a mile, till at length we came to the mouth of a
huge pit that must, 1 imagine, have lain quite a thou-
sand feet below the level of the temple.
I looked over the edge of this pit and shrank back
terrified. It seemed to be bottomless. Moreover, a
great wind rushed up it with a roaring sound like to that
of an angry sea. Or rather there were two winds, per-
haps draughts would be a better term, if I may apply it
to an air movement of so fierce and terrible a nature.
One of these rushed up the pit, and one rushed down.
Or it may have been that the up rush alternated with
the down rush. Really it is impossible to say.
"What is this place?" I asked, clinging to the
others and shrinking back in alarm from its sheer edge
and bottomless depth, for that this was enormous we
could see by the shaft of light which flowed downwards
farther than the eye could follow.
" It is a vent up and down which air passes from and
to the central hollows of the earth," Yva answered.
"Doubtless in the beginning through it travelled that
mighty force which blew out these caves in the heated
rock, as the craftsman blows out glass."
"I understand," said Bastin. "Just like one blows
out a bubble on a pipe, only on a larger scale. Well,
it is very interesting, but I have seen enough of it.
Also I am afraid of being blown away."
" I fear that you must see more," answered Yva with
a smile, "since we are about to descend this pit."
" Do you mean that we are to go down that hole, and
if so, how? I don't see any lift, or moving staircase,
or anything of that sort."
"Easily and safely enough, Bastin. See."
As she spoke a great flat rock of the size of a small
room appeared, borne upwards, as I suppose, by the
terrific draught which roared past us on its upward
course. When it reached the lip of the shaft, it hung a
Jiftlp iwhile, then moved across and began to descend
t i
The Chariot of the Pit 307
with such incredible swiftness that in a few seconds it
had vanished from view. «:t.onas ii
"Oh 1" said Bastin, with his eyes almost startincr
out of his head, "that's the lift, is it ? u^Pi Si vo?
at once I don't like the look of th. .hing I, 4ves me
the creeps. Suppose it tilted." ^ ' ™®
It does not tilt," answered Yv^ .ti!! sirilinir "I
tell you, Bastin, that there is naupht oS^Onli
^''•'S V°^' '"'^ ^^^«"** returned Jnhar^'^;d.-?"'^
how M K A^t^ X^-aST^ ^"-
tellKruth"ff V'^'r^'^'^ **t we would, though to
Bast^m ^"^ ^* "^"^ '^'''^^ «s ^'armld as
"No, I'll come too. I suppose one may as well d.>
his way as any other, and if anything were toZntin
to th«n and I were left alone, it ,^uld^be wor e ^F
. Then be prepared," said Yva, "for presently this
a.r-chanot of ours will return. When it'^apSre Ind
hangs upon the edge, step on to it and throw'^^uSelves
upon your faces and all will be well. At the foot^ thi
shaft the motion lessens till it almost sto^, and it is
easy to spring, or even crawl to the firm earth."
I hen she stooped down and lifted Tommy who was
sniffing suspiciously at the edge of the pr^s lone Z^
blown straight above his head, holding'him beneafh hel
We waited a while in silence, perhaps for five or six
Teve ni.^J'r Vk''" ?'°^. disa?reeabir I think, th^
ai^are'^Thi;.!,^''" l"^^"" '" ^^e brightness below
KshlS upwSs^' *'^^ "^"^^ *° ^-- '" -« -
"It comes," said Yva. "Prepare and do as I do
Do not spring, or run. lest you sh^ld eo too far <;fen
gently on to the rock and'to its centre? aTd there He
down. Trust in me, all of you."
3o8 When the World Shook
"There's nothing else to do," groaned Bastin.
The great stone appeared and, as before, hung al
the edge of the pit. Yva stepped on to it quietly, as
she did so, catching hold of my wrist with her disen-
gaged hand. I followed her feeling very sick, and
promptly sat down. Then came Bickley with the air ol
the virtuous hero of a romance walking a pirate's plank,
and also sat down. Only Bastin hesitated until the
stone began to move away. Then with an ejaculation
of " Here goes ! " he jumped over the intervening crack
of space and landed in the middle of us like a sack ol
coal. Had I not been seated really I think he would
have knocked me off the rock. As it was, with one
hand he gripped me by the beard and with the othei
grasped Yva's robe, of neither of which would he leave
fo for quite a long time, although we forced him on to
is face. The lantern which he held flew from his
grasp and descended the shaft on its own account.
"You silly fool!" exclaimed Bickley whose per-
turbation showed itself in anger. "There goes one ol
our lamps."
"Hang the lamp!" muttered the prostrate Bastin.
"We shan't want it in Heaven, or the other place
either."
Now the stone which had quivered a little beneath
the impact of Bastin, steadied itself again and with a
slow and majestic movement sailed to the other side of
the gulf. There it felt the force of gravity, or perhaps
the weight of the returning air pressed on it, which I do
not know. At any rate it began to fall, slowly at first,
then more swiftly, and afterwards at an incredible pace,
so that in a few seconds the mouth of the pit above us
grew small and presently vanished quite away. I
looked up at Yva who was standing composedly in the
midst of our prostrate shapes. She bent down and
called in my ear :
"All is well. The heat begins, but it will not endure
for long."
I nodded and glanced over the edge of the stone at
Bastin's lantern which was sailing alongside of liS, till
if
The Chariot of the Pit 309
Kn^'^^rj'?^'' "• '^^""" ''^d ''t it before we
started, I think in a moment of aberration, and it burned
shaf?".i4/J°".^ whie showing like a star when "he
^hl\^?^' "^"^i^ ^ " '^'^ ''y degrees, a circumstance
that testifies to the excellence of the make, which is one
advertised not to go out in any wind. Not that we felt
tTii'^^iiin^gw-rit.'""^'*' p"'^p^ '"-"^^ - --
Then we entered the heat zone. About this there
7^A ?u u^' ^"^ ."'^ perspiration burst out all over me
and the burning air scorched my lungs. Also Tommy
thrust his head from beneath the cloa^ with his toS
hanging out and his mouth wide open.
Hold your breaths!" cried Yva, and we obeyed
until we nearly burst. At least I did, but what hap-
pened to the others I do not know. ^
Fortunately it was soon over and the air began to
grow cool again. By now we had travelled an enorm-
ous distance, ,t seemed to be miles on miles, and I
noticed that our terrific speed was slackening, also that
the shaft grew more narrow, till at length there were
only a few feet between the edge of the%tone and its
walls. The result of this, or so I supposed, was that
the compressed air acted as a buffer, lessening our
"?y slowTy. ^' '^"^^ '^^ ^"^' ''°"' """""^ ''"^
"Be ready to follow me," cried Yva again, and we
roi« to our feet, that is, Bickley and I did, but poor
Bastin was semi-comatose. The stone stopped and Yva
Ijt^"AiV^1° ^ ^9^^ platform level with which it lav.
We followed, dragging Bastin between us. As we did
so something hit me gently on the head. It was Bastin's
lamp, which I seized.
"We are safe. Sit down and rest," said Yva
leading us a few paces away.
We obeyed and presently by the dim light saw the
stone begin to stir again, this time upwards In another
twenty seconds it was away on its never-ending iourney.
y Does it always go on like that?" said Bastin
sitting up and staring after it. oasiin,
u
-»St
310 When the World Shook
"Tens of thousands of years ago it was journeying
thus, and tens of thousands of years hence it will stil
be journeying, or so I think," she replied. "Why not
since the strength of the draught never changes anc
there is nothing to wear it except the air ? "
Somehow the vision of this huge stone, first loosec
and set in motion by heaven knows what agency, travel
ling from aeon to aeon up and down that shaft ir
ob«lience to some law I did not understand, impressec
my imagination like a nightmare. Indeed I often dreair
of it to this day.
I looked about me. We were in some cavernou!
place that could be but dimly seen, for here the lighi
that flowed down the shaft from the upper caves when
it was mysteriously created, scarcely shonp, and ofter
indeed was entirely cut off, when the ever-journeying
stone w£is in the narr.>west parts of the paiisage. I coulc
see, however, that this cavern stretched away both tc
right and left of us, while I felt that from the left, a:
we sat facing the shaft, there drew down a strong bias
of fresh air which suggested that somewhere, howevei
far away, it must open on to the upper world. For the
rest its bottom and walls seemed to be smooth a;
though they had been planed in the past ages by th«
action of cosmic forces. Bickley noticed this the firs
and pointed it out to me. We had little time to observe
however, for presently Yva said :
"If you are rested, friends, I pray you light thos«
lamps of yours, since we must walk a while ir
darkness."
We did and started, still travelling downhill. Yvs
walked ahead with me and Tommy who seemed some
what depressed and clung close to our heels. The othei
two followed, arguing strenuousljr about I know noi
what. It was their way of working off irritation and
alarms.
I asked Yva what was about to happen, for a great
fear oppressed me.
"I am not sure, Beloved," she answered in a sweel
and gentle voice, "who do not know all Oro's secrets,
lilJ L
The Chariot of the Pit 311
but as I think, great things. We are now deeo in thf
bowels of the world, and presently, perhlpryou wil!
'' ThVrf ho ''^°^'1^«' doing their everCing^wo k" '
Then how IS it that we can breathe here?" I ask^
low^ it Tt^-/ *',' °' ""^ '° ^° ^' «'"<=« once I fo !
uSti; lid; tV[>h"e^[gto??he^L^Sf i^-- 1-
,.,K- k • "*^ °^ mysteries and the gloom, or that li^rh
which IS worse than gloom." ^"'
"Why not?" I asked eagerly. "Whv should «,^
not turn and flee?" »viiy snouid we
repl'ieT''" • h"^ w'/m"" ""^ '^'^er, the Lord Oro ?" she
rnni M °".¥ ^"^""^ "s l^fore we had eone a
^dd m^rpS,:^ ^^ «^'^' '^y '--rrow hfl^th^
•'And how can we save it by not flying, Yva?"
saved trT ''"T' """IPhrey. yet I think it will be
y^fa^rno^^rTS^^^^^^^ S fsLSfy- ^
"I hope not," I replied, without enthusia<ini t
sofrif^Thrr'"'*'"^ '"l^?'"^^ °" ™y head and on^y
Pctl^^TvaTatd'"^ Ih^TllTr^rX^S ^
through so that to it I could make no Answer ^^ ^""^
rr^JiJ^ moment it was too late to retreat, for our nar-
rowing passage tumed and we found ourselves in a
wondrous place. I call it wondrous becau^ of i w^
could see neither the beginning nor the enl. nor the
3xa When the World Shook
roof, nor aught else save the rock on which we walked,
and the side or wall that our hands touched. Nor was
this because of darkness, since although it was not
illuminated like the upper caverns, light of a sort was
firesent. It was a very strange light, consisting of bril-
iant and intermittent flashes, or globes of blue and
lambent flame which seemed to leap from nowhere into
nowhere, or sometimes to hang poised in mid air.
" How odd they are," said the voice of Bastin behind
me. "They remind me of those blue sparks which
jump up from the wires of the tramways in London
on a dark night. You know, don't you, Bickley? I
mejn when the conductor pulls round that long stick
with an iron wheel on the top of it."
"Nobody but ypu could have thought of such a com-
parison, Bastin," answered Bickley. "Still, multiplied
a thousandfold they are not unlike."
Nor indeed were they, except that each blue flash
was as big as the full moon and in one place or another
they were so continuous that one could have read a
letter by their light. Also the effect of them was
ghastly and most unnatural, terrifving, too, since even
their brilliance could not reveal the extent of that gi-
gantic hollow in the bowels of the world wherein they
leapt to and fro like lightnings, or hung like huge,
uncanny lanterns.
\\
CHAPTER XXV
SACRIFICE
ZtemicitV butterfh''' '^.'^''^P'l.^i'h some form
to harm us " saW filkfi^ • '"^ '^ "'*' " ''°^« "<« seem
though he ;eredeterSpH'" \ r^«""-°^-fa« fashion as
"Tn ^- ;7^ aetermmed not to be astonished.
Even then I could not help smiling at this reoartep
that pX"sfer; tf^^: ^;^ i^-.Ht
courage to ride the flying stone. I am g?ad that iUs
not so, since otherwise he who had shown himLif ,
coward should have had no share in the rule Tthat
313
I , -;
314 When the World Shook
new world which is to be. Therefore I chose yonder
road that it might test you."
"Then if you will be so good as to choose another
for us to return by, I shall be much obliged to you,
Oro," said Bastin.
"How do you know that if I did it would not be
more terrible, Preacher ? How do you know indeed that
this is not your last journey from which there is no
return?"
"Of course I can't be sure of anything, Oro, but I
think the question is one which you might more appro*
priately put to yourself. According to your own
showing you are now extremely old and therefore your
end is likely to come at any moment. Of course, how-
ever, if it did you would have one more journey tc
make, but it wouldn't be polite for me to say in wha'
direction."
Oro heard, and his splendid, icy face was twisted
with sudden rage. Remembering the scene in the
temple where he had grovelled before his god, uttering
agonised, unanswered prayers for added days, I under-
stood the reason of his wrath. It was so great that I
feared lest he should kill Bastin (who only a few houn
before, be it remembered, had tried to kill him) then
and there, as doubtless he could have done if he wished.
Fortunately, if he felt it, the impulse passed.
"Miserable fool ! " he said. "I warn you to keep a
watch upon your words. Yesterday you would have
slain me with your toy. To-day you stab me with your
ill-omened tongue. Be fearful lest I silence it for ever."
"I am not in the least fearful, Oro, since I am
sure that you can't hurt me at all any more than I could
hurt you last night because, you see, it wasn't per-
mitted. When the time comes for me to die, I shall go,
but you will have nothing to do with that. To tell the
truth, I am very sorry for you, as with all your great-
ness, your soul is of the earth, earthy, also sensual and
devilish, as the Apostle said, and, I am afraid, very
malignant, and you will have a great deal to answer for
shortly Yours won't be a nappy deathbed, Oro,
Sacrifice
315
what"«;J„°r«„^''' ^°" ^'»'y '" y°"' '''"= «"'• don't know
wnat repentance means.
filli Zuh ."'*'' "'°' ''il''" ^ ^^'<^ ">«« words I was
fpin-c '* most unbounded admiration for Bastin's
fearless courage whicli enabled him thus to beard his
super-tyrant in his den. So indeed were we all. for I
read ,t .n Yva's face and heard Bicl^ley mutter f
infaiThT" ^P''"**'d' After al! there is something
his hefr"f ^n? «PP';e<='ajed it with his intellect, if not with
inthlV' ^^ T'^ ^* '''« ""^n and "lade no answer.
In the language of the ring, he was quite "knocked out "
and, almost humbly, changed the subject.
We have yet a little while," he said, "before that
happens which I have decreed. Come, Humphrey, ha
I may show you some of the marvels of this bibble
uiTo^.w*'' ^^1' °^ '^^ ^•'^''''" *"d »>« motioned S
us to pick up the lanterns.
Then he led us away from the wall of the cavern if
dreJ oZT ^2,^ " '''^!f?^'',°f P^^haps six or seveThunl
dred paces. Here suddenly we came to a great eroove
in the rocky floor, as broad'as a very wide rSadwaf "Tnd
mayhap four feet in depth. The bottom of this g;t^ve
was polished and glittered; indeed it gave us the^m!
pression of being iron, or other ore which had be?n
welded together beneath the grinding of some
the groove, it divided into two, for this reason.
h»™ k"^ "^"''^ ^^^ ^?°'' °f ''■°"' o"" whatever it may
.tZL^^T' ™^' l^^ '"*=^'°" °^ «" '""^h at first, but
tr^« K%'"°'* ^''"Pi^' ^"'^ "''s «' a spot where the
groove had a somewhat steep downward dip which
appeared to extend onwards I know not how far.
Following along this central rise for a great way,
nearly a mile, I should think, we observed that it bil
came ever more pronounced, till at length it ended in
a razor-edged cliff which stretched up higher than we
^^^Ini^' *""• ^y '^^ ^''?^' °^ ** «'«^trical discharges
fh^rt^ A^T^^ ^I"^ ^^«\°^ **>'s cliff, we perceived
that at a distance from it there were now too grooves
3x6 When the World Shook
of about equal width. One of these ran away into the
darlcness on our right as we faced the sharp edge, and
at an ever-widening angle, while the other, at a similar
angle, ran into the darkness to the left of the knife of
cliff. That was all.
No, there were two more notable things. Neither of
the grooves now lay within hundreds of yards of the cliff,
perhaps a quarter of a mile, for be it remembered we
had followed the rising rock between them. To put it
quite clearly, it was exactly as though one line of rails
had separated into two lines of rails, as often enough
they do, and an observer standing on high ground
between could see them both vanishing into tunnels to
the right and left, but far apart.
The second notable thing was that the right-hand
groove, where first we saw it at the point of separation,
was not polished like the left-hand groove, although at
some time or other it seemed to have been subjected to
the pressure of the same terrific weight which .'ut its
fellow out of the bed of rock or wn. as the sharp wheels
of a heavily laden waggon sink luts into a roadway.
"What does it all mean, Lord Oro?" I asked when
he had led us back to the spot where the one groove
began to be two grooves, that is, a mile or so away
from the razor-^dged cliff.
"This, Humphrey," he answered. "That which
travels along yonder road, when it reaches this spot on
which we stand, follows the left-hand path which is
made bright with its passage. Yet, could a giant at
that moment of its touching this exact spot on which I
lay my hand, thrust it with sutricient strength, it would
leave the left-hand road and take the right-hand road."
"And if it did, what then. Lord Oro?"
"Then within an hour or so, when it had travelled
far enough upon its way, the balance of the earth would
be changed, and great things would happen in the
world above, as once they happened in bygone days.
Now do you understand, Humphrey?"
"Good Heavens I Yes, I understand now," I
answered. "But fortunately there is no such giant."
Sacrifice jj^
hand road Xch alZr,^^ ^ •*l.''l *"»"'«' »<> 'he feft-
the facrSf Th eafth ta,^hanli!l'^ M ^°"' '?'"»• «"*«
turn it from theTff-hand roW« .k ^°V?''" ^ *"'
in which for niniions of"Jelrs1t'wi^;ff l;'r^ '°"5
once more the face of th/^^rX luff u "' '° '^""» ""d
who are left living uion the earth " k"^' t"** '''°«=
of aces shall rnm-T, i- "'"' ""^ *'^o '" the course
bow^own to o7o a„i°ti« hrrn?f • ""^ I"'^' ">"«
gods and kings " "" ""'* '"* «=«^ '» be their
jsHhlS^!^--"^^^
speak come this way, Lord Oro ?"""'' °' "'^"='' y°"
BicuSy^hetlueT^ ^^''"" '»''' number is my secret,
troJ'bTe'^'us.'-^remarkM^ S" '° '?°J"= "^»' '' *'" "ot
mockery in his v^fa ^"''''y *"'' » suspicion of
Oro'^"ir„1 V'ir'* '"^ y°" '«""«''' Bickley?" asked
which I tell should nr..«.nfi„ k ^V ^ Traveller of
3x8 When the World Shook
again glanced at my face with a looic that was half
anxious and half pitiful. Also twice she stooped and
patted Tommy.
We reached the wall, though not quite at the spot
whence we had started to examine the grooved roads.
At least I think this was so, since now for the first
time I observed a kind of little window in its rocky face.
It stood about five feet from its floor level, and was
perhaps ten inches square, not more. In short, except
for its shape it resembled a ship's porthole rather than
a window. Its substance appeared to be talc, or some
such material, and inches thick, yet through it, after
Oro had cast aside some sort of covering, came a glare
like that of a search-light. In fact it was a search-Tight
so far as concerned one of its purposes.
By this window or porthole lay a pile of cloaks, also
four objects which looked like Zulu battle shields cut
in some unknown metal or material. Very deftly, very
quietly, Yva lifted these cloaks and wrapped one of
them about each of us, and while she was thus em-
ployed I noticed that they were of a substance very
similar to that of the gown she wore, which I have
described, but harder. Next she gave one of the metal-
like shields to each of us, bidding us hold them in
front of our bodies and heads, and only to look through
certain slits in them in which were eye-pieces that
appeared to be of the same horny stuff as the search-
light window. Further, she commanded us to stand
in a row with our backs against the rock wall, at
certain spots which she indicated with great precison,
and whatever we saw or heard on no account to move.
So there we stood, Bickley next to me, and beyond
him Bastin. Then Yva took the fourth shield, as 1
noted a much larger one than ours, and placed herseli
between me and the search-light or porthole. On th«
other side of this was Oro who had no shield.
These arrangements took some minutes and during
that time occupied all our attention. When they were
completed, however, our curiosity and fear began to
re-assert themselves. I lookec bout me and perceived
Sacrifice jj^
ran5VS»^^re movT 1?' ^"'"'^'^'« '^«h which
still and keeo thl Thilu." ""^ *''°"i''*' '" "* '» *"«nd
the blacKin mm li^ '"/"?• ^'''^'' »''"' «>"««
s:ept!ca7butl'l?.Tl!fei:',hV''!' ''"«^' ' ^av^ been
you i to do ? ■• '" ''"""'^- O™' *hat are
thousand centuries LoB„ -/ "!? ""'"' "»«" t'^o
to shoot you yest^.
Then I spoke also, saying:
you will be the absSute^n^^. °"'" ^^^^'^ «' *hich
empi« that has b'^^rde^rt^ ""ZZV^I ''T P^'
agency or otherwisi. kTIz^' ^^ through your
bitions. LikeB«tin .„° 5°°^ '^a" '^o"'^ of such am-
to let them £." ' °' -'^•'"' ^"' « ^^''e I pray you
"What Humphrey says I repeat,'^ said Yva. "My
ft '.
320 When the World Shook
Father, although you know it not, you seek great evil,
and from these hopes you sow you will harvest nothing
save a loss of which you do not dream. Moreover,
your plans will fail. Now I who am, like yourself, of
the Children of Wisdom, have spoken for the first and
last time, and my words are true. I pray you give
them weight, my Father."
Oro heard, and grew furious.
"What!" he said. "Are you against me, every
one, and my own daughter also? I would lift you up,
I would make you rulers of a new world; I would de-
stroy your vile civilisations which I have studied with
my eyes, that I may build better I To you, Humphrey,
I would give my only child in marriage that from you
may spring a divine race of kings I And yet you are
against me and set up your puny scruples as a barrier
across my path of wisdom. Well, I tread them down,
I go on my appointed way. But beware how you try
to hold me back. If any one of you should attempt
to come between me and my ends, know that I will
destroy you all. Obey or die."
"Well, he has had his chance and he won t take
it," said Bastin in the silence that followed. "The
man must go to the devil his own way and there is
nothing more to be said."
I say the silence, but it was no more silent. The
distant humming grew to a roar, the roar to a hellish
hurricane of sound which presently drowned all attempts
at ordinary speech.
Then bellowing like ten millions of bulls, at length
far away there appeared something terrible. I can
only describe its appearance as that of an attenuated
mountain on fire. When it drew nearer I perceived
that it was more like a ballet-dancer whirling round
and round upon her toes, or rather all the ballet-dancers
in the world rolled into one and then multiplied a
million times in size. No, it was like a mushroom with
two stalks, one above and one below, or a huge top with
a point on which it spun, a swelling belly and another
point above. But what a top ! It must have been two
Sacrifice 321
thousand feet high, if it was an inch, and its circum-
terence who could measure ?
On it came, dancing, swaying and spinning at a
rate mconceivable, so that it looked like " gigantic
wheel of fire. Yei was not fire that clothed it but
ratfter some phospnorescence, since from it came no
u \i \^' ^ phosphorescence arranged in bands of
ghastly blue and lurid red, with streaks of other colours
running up between, and a kind of waving fringe of
The fire-mountain thundered on with a voice like to
that of avalanches or of icebergs crashing from their
parent glaciers to the sea. Its terrific aspect was appal-
ling, and Its weight caused the solid rock to quiverfike
a leaf. Watching it, we felt as ants might feel at the
advent of the crack of doom, for its mere height and
girth and size overwhelmed us. We could not even
speak. The last words I heard were from the mouth of
Uro who screamed out :
"Behold the balance of the World, you miserable,
doubting men, and behold me change its path— tumine
It as the steersman turns a ship ! "
Then he made certain signs to Yva, who in
obedience to them approached the porthole or search-
light, to which she did something that I could not
distinguish. The effect was to make the beam of light
much stronger and sharper, also to shift it on to the
point or foot of the spinning mountain and, by an
aiming of the lens from time to time, to keep it there
This went on for a while, since the dreadful thine
did not travel fast notwithstanding the frightful speed
of Its revo utions. I should doubt indeed if it advanced
more quickly than a man could walk; at any rate so it
seemed to us. But we had no means of judging its real
rate of progress whereof we knew as little as we
did of the course it followed in the bowels of the earth
Perhaps that was spiral, from the world's deep heart
upwards, and this was the highest point it reached. Or
perhaps it remained stationary, but still spinning, for
scores or hundreds of years in some central iS)wer-
ii.M'
m'i
U
il
M
322 When the World Shook
house of its own, whence, in obedience to unknown
laws, from time to time it made these terrific journeys.
No one knows, unless perhaps Oro did, in which case
ne kept the mformation to himself, and no one will ever
know. At any rate there it was, travelling towards us
on Its giant butt, the peg of the top as it were, which,
hidden m a cloud of friction-born sparks that enveloped
It like the cup of a curving flower of fire, whirled round
and round at an infinite speed. It was on this flaming
K **V. ^^^ search-light played steadily, doubtlcM
that Oro might mark and measure its monstrous
progress.
• m^ '? Sroing to try to send the thing down the
right-hand path," I shouted into Bickley's ear.
"Can't be done I Nothing can shift a travelling
weight of tens of millions of tons one inch," Bickley
roared back, trying to look confident.
Clearly, however, Yva thought that it could be
done, for of a sudden she cast down her shield and,
throwing herself upon her knees, stretched out her
hands in supplication to her father. I understood, as
did we all, that she was imploring him to abandon his
hellish purpose. He glared at her and shook his head.
Then, as she still went on praying, he struck her across
the face with his hand and pushed her to her feet again.
My blood boiled as I saw it and I think I should have
sprung at him, had not Bickley caught hold of me.
shouting, "Don't, or he will kill her and us too."
Yva lifted her shield and returned to her station,
and in the blue discharges which now flashed almost
continuously, and the phosphorescent glare of the
advancing mountain, I saw that though her beautiful
face worked beneath the pain of the blow, her eyes
remained serene and purposeful. Even then I won-
dered—what was the purpose shining through them.
Also I wondered if I was about to be called upon to
make that sacrifice of which she had spoken, and if so,
how. Of one thing I was determined— that if the call
came it should not find me deaf. Yet all the while I
was horribly afraid.
Sacrifice
323
to the* l^n^'T fc^[°; ^^« did something n,ore
see what it wS The"4t^"f l^^ °^ ^?/' ' "'"'^ "<>'
dered till, far away it fS p" ° , '•^''' ^'"J'ed and wan-
the rock began to ^is? into thf^^ upon that spot where
two grooves^or roads aSeiSedf/fh'l'''''' ''"P.^™'^^ 'he
Moreover I observed tlwt Or« l ^H '?^0'-edged cliflF.
had either pK someth?/^' k? '*'^' " ^^^ '^' ^^ "s.
infinitesimal bulginf of jLfJTr'V'.K^ '""'' ''^'^ ^^s'
smeared it with fhafk or shiS^ °- ^'"'^ ^'°°^<^' °' had
also what I had noTbeen fblJf^ ^'^'^T'' ^ "^served
;he ..are of the ^L^h^ilhT^ TZ/iaS' o^e^r tt!
NatI?e\worShoD'for*T'"K«^ ?r°^°P« f««hioned in
drawing S^ SS^Jtine ^'l T^"""' *^°"''' '' *«' ^«
which, with the^cE ^a .?.""' * *T"'' °^ so""<«s
whelmed our sensed fer Ifttl?"?^' ^'"°« °ver-
cowed, although he was a LlH 1 . ^ommy, already
down entirely,^and I could ti ? '"'k^ ^^^^' hroke
that he was howlfng with terror ^^1?^!!^ """"'h
then ran to Yva and nawpH o^ ^ ^!f' "^ *hout him,
be taken into her arms Sh-th''.*K*^^""y ««'''"& 'o
fiercely, and made ISns to ^.^ "f'. ''u'" ^^^V' «l™ost
him lineeth my shfld Thf, ? ^•^''™n"P ^"^^ hold
that if I was to^be Sificed T„m,l. ' '""'^''".S^ ^^^'^
fate. I even thouirhf Tf „ ' .^'""™y must share my
but had no ?ime fiSeed ^Tl^ ^"^ °" '° B'^^J^'^/
tion for BickTey w« Sri^tith^an'hr ''^ ^"«'"-
nightmare-Iike spectacle wh^h, • ^'^ ^^^^ «* the
us. Indeed no'^n^tmare nn ^^"m" P'^^^''^'^ ^hout
which the mind of m!n Sable To m "P«?'"ation of
of its stupendous facts ^ ' "''^ "^^' 'he aspect
neJStded*t;'^hUl^rorr1,^P-^« «f ^lack.
that now hung a while anrf^ ^u^^^^ 'ncandescence
wards, across.^apprrentlv withni:/'"'-'"P^^^d^' down-
stream Of n>ete^ortSS--^-;en^^^^^^^^^^^
u
324 When the World Shook
travelling mountain, two thousand feet in height, or
more, with its enormous saucer-like rim painted round
with bands of lurid red and blue, and about its grind-
ing f(K)t the tulip bloom of emitted flame. Then the
fierce-faced Oro at his post, his hand upon the rod,
waiting, remorseless, to drown half of this great world,
with the lovely Yva standing calm-eyed like a saint in
hell and watching me above the edge of the shield which
such a saint might bear to turn aside the fiery darts of
the wicked. And lastly we three men flattened terror-
stricken, against the wall.
Nightmare! Imagination! No, these pale before
that scene which it was given to our human eyes to
witness.
And all the while, bending, bowing towards us —
away from us— maVing obeisance to the path in front
as though in ^reeth,;, to the path behind as though in
farewell; instinct ^.ih a horrible life, with a hideous
and gigantic gracs, that titanic Terror whirled onwards
to the mark of fate.
At the moment nothing could persuade me that it
was not alive and did not know its awful mission.
Visions flashed across my mind. I thought of the
peoples of the world sleeping in their beds, or going
about their business, or engaged even in the work of
war. I thought of the ships upon the seas steaming
steadily towards their far-off ports. Then I thought of
what presently might happen to them, of the tremors
followed by convulsions, of the sudden crashing down
of cities, such as we had seen in the picture Yva showed
us in the Temple, of the inflow of the waters of the deep
piled up in mighty waves, of the woe and desolation
as of the end of the world, and of the quiet, following
death. So I thought and in my heart prayed to the
great Arch-Architect of the Universe to str«tch out His
Arm to a\'ert this fearsome ruin of His handiwork.
Oro glared, his thin fingers tightened their grip
upon the rod, his hair and long beard seemed to bristle
with furious and delighted excitement. The purple-
fringed rim of the Monster had long overshadowed the
Sacrifice ^2-
yardslC"' OraZ^\ "' ^""^'"^ ^°°' *-« scarce ten^
something that I could not sfe Thr """". ""*^ '^''^
part were played she m«P ^" .u ^"' ^* '^''"gh lier
cloak all abouf Sr face J, 'th Jh """ ^r^ hood of her
visible, took one sti thirds ,^e'''H'°"l''""'^'"«d
English we had taught her callTd in'J*^ '" '^^ ^"'^^'^
"Humphrey, gXxju bless! H° ^^ ^^'•
soon. Forget not me J" ^ Humphrey, we meet
answeranS'^nexhnstaTwitf/i"^! *^°"''^ ^^^-P^ to
effort, Oro bending hTm.:^"'d^i,f°"«; concentrated
rod, as I could see from his Tr.., '"I' "P°" '^e
while he thrust. ^ "P^"'"'^ '"O"''', shouting
immed!atd?7n "ion^of The',' ""'' ^P""^' ^^ '-P'
the metallic shidd w° h vvh T °u '""''°^^' ^° 'hat
pressed against iS substance '^' '""''''^ herself
^^^Simultaneously Oro flung up his arms as though in
sprang oS'a ru^S'ofnSfl' '"' '^^ "^^'"^ '' 'here
shiel/and expanded o r"f hfand le/t '' Th'' ^" V^''
shield and earments thlt Fi, "• ^^e insulated
For a fractKrtfme she s'to);:S V"]l^ '° ^««'^' ''•
angel, wrapped in fiTe ^ '^^'^ ^'''^ ^ g'o-'ng
mtle distateX's^rv^dSlTaSost' T^^^^"^ '^t a
our sight. ^ ^ ^host and vanished from
Yva was ashes ! Yva was c^ohp I tu
was consummated I ^ ' ^"« sacrifice
And not in vain 1 Not in viin 1 nr, u
breast she had rereiv^H tJi tut, °" ^er poor
lightning flash Ye whiS H." ' ''^'' °^ '^at hellish
from her, seeking the heeL^hl/u^' •" '"'"''' ^^■^'^^'
326 When the World Shook
■ il of half the world, or missing it altogether, passe<
away on either side. Even so the huge, gleamini
mountain rocked and trembled. Once, twice, thrice, i
bowed Itself towards us as though in majestic homagi
to greatness passed away. For a second, too, its course
was checked, and at the check the earth quaked an<
trembled. Yes, then the world shook, and the blui
globes of fire went out, while I was thrown to th(
ground.
When they returned again, the flaming monster wa;
once more sailing majestically upon its way and dowi
the accustomed left-hand path!
Indeed the sacrifice was not i.i vain,
shook— but Yva had saved the world !
The work
CHAPTER XXVI
TOMMY
ie-atf th/shanL" d"^'"" :' I i^' ^^"-. and
to me. NotwithsTandinrZ «*''"=''• V^* ^ad given
stuff of which it wL made fno eTr!' "^' '"««'''««'^
and almost burnt through Doubtil 11*"'^ '^'^'^'^
f^ctncity or earth magnetism or ^^ »" "'^ stored-up
been that had leapt ouf o St hnr. k*'^^' '' "^^^ ^^ve
the resistance with wh ch ItLf' ?^!"^ ^'ff"«d by
w.th its outer edge, and had 7tL?t'' ^f &^^«d «"«
and cloak, I also sho.TlJ^ i? u' ^^'^ ^o' the shield
wished, oh I hori wisS thaHt'^h'^H ^'"^^ "P" I
by now all must havf^KH-u ^ " "^^ been so. Then
arm about the poor little l^h/^ l"*^ throwing my
the great worldKn ce J"f '^Srla,^'""'' •' ^^'^'^
journey. At one time Z l^TT^ °" ''^ "^^al
overshadowed us and llmost seemer''l'"«^ ."■" had
of rock against which ™°eant r 1 '°u^'' *''« '^'W
effect of that shining arrh T^ f member that the
our heads was wondfrfuT IttT^HV''^' °' ^ above
of blackest -^under clonHc c '^"""'^^'^ me of a canopy
of wheeling raintows Ifle^^*'''*^ •^°" ' ^'^"^'^^^^
of the devil shou^^'t^ge her r? " ""/''« '^'^'^ren
effect only a few second! before Yi7;„„t^ "^'"^ ^'''s
leapt mto the path of the fl^h ^^^ '° ">« «"«»
Now, however, it was far' o„,»
328 When the World Shook
Hi
I :.
ill
voices were growing faint. As I have said, I watched
its disappearance idly, reflecting that I should never
look upon its like again; also that it was something
well worth going forth to see. Then I became aware
that the humming, howling din had decreased sufK-
ciently to enable me to hear human voices without
effort. Bastin was addressing Bickley — like myself
they were both upon the ground.
"Her translation, as you may have noticed, Bickley,
if you were not too frightened, w.^s really very remark-
able. No doubt it will have reminded you, as it did
me, of that of Elijah. She had exactly the appearance
of a person going up to Heaven in a vehicle of fire.
The destination was certainly the same, and even the
cloak she wore added a familiar touch and increased the
similarity."
"At any rate it did not fall upon you," answered
Bickley with something like a sob, in a voice of
mingled awe and exasperation. "For goodness' sake I
Bastin, stop your Biblical parallels and let us adore,
yes, let us ado'-^ the divinest creature that the earth
has borne I "
Never have I loved Bickley more than whe.i I heard
him utter those words.
" ' Divinest ' is a large term, Bickley, and one to
which I hesitate to subscribe, remembering as I do
certain of the prophets and the Early Fathers with all
their faults, not of course to mention the Apostles.
But " here he paused, for suddenly all three of us
became aware of Oro.
He also had been thrown to the ground by the
strength of the prisoned forces which he gathered and
loosed upon their unholy errand, but, as I rejoiced to
observe, had suffered from them much more than our-
selves. Doubtless this was owing to the fact that he
had sprung forward in a last wild effort to save his
daughter, or to prevent her from interfering with his
experiment, I know not which. As a result his right
cheek was much scorched, his right arm was withered
and helpless, and his magnificent beard was half burnt
Tommy
329
like an «Slea Alffl hP°" '''*>' and^hooT
smitten Lat„e'?„^i cur^""^ shape, like a lightning-
"Mv tku^hf., k "^ "^' especially Bastin.
by the^fieryfoter tS.P"'''" '^'^ "•*^^' "^"'"^1 up
mains of h?r burdust I„d P^' TT''- ^^''''''g ^"-^
Vou poisoned her heart w^h"''J^!f. '* y*'"'' doing,
mere/ and sacrffice and tt/°"''/''"'^'l'' ''°'='""«« «^
herself into the path of ^S.fl •f*'"' *° "'^^ ^^'^ «'"««•
races that she hfd never'e^e^known^'' '"' ^"^ "'^^^"'^
him witrsSitf''"*"'^'"' ^^■''^^^°"' Bastin answered
whfe^^^l^Ji^'nter'aw^e'r^'^ro'r- "^^ ^^^
fault since you should Iinw if// J^° 'i '^ >'°"'" '•'•*"
instead of boxing he" earnikith?!*^ '.° ^'^ ^"'^•^^""^^
. . " My daughtfr is l^n. • • Jl" ''/"*S.^«" «^«-'
wiirreturnagrinrif noUuTlonW''^ '^^ world-balance
done." ^ ' "°' *'" '°"& a^'er your life-spans are
BiddeyroSg.^Tm^y^Xouas"' °r" -''^
stands such things that m!,« t- ^1 "^^ °"^ w''*' ""der-
life-span is S also luh'^'^l \^^^ ^ ^^^^ >"""
dela/ed, severe shocks from bu "„?«„.". ''''" ?^"^ '^'^
are apt to prove fatal to th^ aged " °^^'-*'^'*^"^"'^"»
"A^r^^'^ "" ''''"'• "'^ other v^ord describes it
"whifh"'ar?S ?o%?:?vrfS?' ,^^-'cT/n''' hesaid.
now you will 'nVL^^^dSy^'ry JoVe?'^^- ^' '-'
it seeLThat"ife^|Tgrea1er"p'^' ^'^'^'^■^' "'--
a woman's love and sacrffice" "■' "^"'"'>' ^''^^ "^
putthteiLTrnthfLr^^P*^'^ «-t'". "Which
"As for you, Humphrey." went on Oro, "I rejoice
A,
s
S3
"5
330 When the World Shook
to think that you at least have lost two things that man
desires above all other things — the woman you sought
and the future kingship of the world."
I stood up and faced him.
" The first I have gained, although how, you do
not undersund, Oro," 1 answered. "And of the
second, seeing that it would have come through you, on
your conditions, I am indeed glad to be rid. I wish no
power that springs from murder, and no gifts from one
who answered his daughter's prayer with blows."
For a moment he seemed remorseful.
"She vexed me with her foolishness," he said.
Then his rage blazed up again :
" And it was y0;U who taught it to her," he went
on. "You are guilty, all three of you, and therefore
I am left with none to serve me m my age; there-
fore also my mighty schemes are overthrown."
"Also, Oro, if you speak truth, therefore half the
world is saved," I added quietly, "and one has left
it of whom it was unworthy."
" You think that these civilisations of yours, as you
are pleased to call them, are saved, do you?" he
sneered. " Yet, even if Bickley were right and I should
die and become powerless, I tell you that they are
already damned. I have studied them in your books
and seen them with my eyes, and I say that they are
rotten before ever they are ripe, and that their end shall
be the end of the Sons of Wisdom, to die for lack of
increase. That is why I would have saved the East,
because in it alone there is increase, and thence alone
can rise the great last race of man v hich I would have
given to your children for an heritage. Moreover, think
not that you Westerners have done with wars. I tell
you that they are but begun and that the sword shall
eat you up, and what the sword spares class shall snatch
from clasc in the struggle for supremacy and ease."
Thus he spoke with extraordinary and concentrated
bitterness that I confess would have frightened me, had
I been capable of fear, which at the moment I was not.
Who is afraid when he has lost all ?
Tommy
w « 331
•'/X^^^^'P «'"med. if for other reasons
the o;.?&i7J;: Se5"ta 4''^"^^. -that
God Almighty wnrLkXr^K'''* *''°"' ''» ^'our own.
whatever way^He iia^ thfnf ^l « '^"'"" civifisations in
He did just now C^n V I «m L' "* y°" "^^^ remember
to see how it is done "' '"'" ^"^ *°"'' ^^ here
•^If r ^Jl'? '''."«''* '" Oro's eyes.
If difTeren^ti;, I tLi°t\tt'\hT'' ^^ t'' "^''^^^d.
on her road. How ? TK^f • tu ^°" ^''""''^ follow
I leave you to sSrve m fc ' **** question? Shall
not towards the r^H„f** ^'^' caves ?-Nay, look
pointed out t?Vr for aTti:? *!:'-»' doubtle^^ she
travel swiftly and I will m.li^P*"'*? ''"**'^«' ^ can
blocked. Or shall l^?^^^l/T '^' >?" fi"^ ''
at the great globes of wln^f • H &'anced upwards
P > posed to sumrnon ^hem to k„""^ ^J^' .** '''""g^ he
^ oould have d™ne ^^ °"' ^*'*"'' «« doubtless
"0011*^1° would 'hP^''*' ^°" '^°'" ^ «"swered wearily
my SfendsTaS sorfy^sLe^^^'S''"!^'''?'- Y« f ?
this quest, and^or yo^' too tLT - V''^..^ *''^"' °"
confinuanyt'd&^tfL'totil"""'-,- "« -»""-«
then returned to us su^^LfnlTh ."" *^'"'« ^^^ a"^
this horror-haunted spo^t^^Las^tIvtThn''°;:'l«° ^^'*'"
stood that it was Om wh^ t ^' ^* though he under-
him and jumpT^ Sj iS^ hf,' h"' '}■''• ^' ^«"' »«
fashion. ^^ « "P' "cfed his hand m a beseeching
thmg resembling pity ^ replaced by some-
"I do not wish the beast to die," he muttered to
332 When the World Shook
'1
•3
''-1
11
rs
"0
himself in low reflective tones, as though he thought
aloud, "for of them all it alone liked and did not fear
me. I might take it with me but still it would
perish of grief in the loneliness of the caves. More-
over, she loved it whom I shall see no more;
yes, Yva " as he spoke the name his voice
broke a little. " Yet if I suflfer them to escape they "/ill
tell my story to the world and make me a laugaing-
stock. Well, if they do, what does it matter? None
of those Western fools would believe it; thinking that
they know all ; like Bickley they would mock and say
that they were mad, or liars."
Again Tommy licked his hand, but more confidently,
as though instii\ct told him something of what was
passing m Oro's mind. 1 watched with an idle wonder,
marvelling whether it were possible that this merciless
being would aftt" ui spare us for the sake of a dog.
So, strange tf say, it came about, for suddenly Oro
looked up and said :
" Get you gone, and quickly, before my mooil
changes. The hound has saved you. For its sake I give
you vour lives, who otherwise should certainly have
died. She who has gone pointed out to you, I doubt
not, a road that runs to the upper air. I think that
it is still open. Indeed," he added, closing his eyes
for a moment, "i see that it is still open, if long
and difficult. Follow it, and should vou win through,
take your boat and sail away as swiftly as you can.
Whether you die or live I care nothing, but my hands
will be clean of your blood, although yours are stained
with Yva's. Begone ! and my curse go with you."
Without waiting for further words we went to fetch
our lanterns, water-bottles and bag of food which we
had laid down at a little distance. As we approached
them I looked up and saw Oro standing some way off.
The light from one of the blue globes of fire which
passed close above his head, shone upon him and made
him ghastly. Moreover, it seemed to me as though
approaching death had written its name upon his male-
volent countenance.
Tommy
333
fSS played! '"' ''"'""''' ""° ''''^ •^='»<'°«» '^here To
devouring fi« CI.- "^ **^" tJisso vf(i in the
most part melted hm fhl J' u ^. ^°'*^ '""^ for the
protect'ed/brtKhfel^ I'n^d aSs.o?Zrfo';?uch"?
suppose It was, had resisted the fui? of he fl«lh n .
.ns.1,^ Kl'„'" for'''l''™ ir" r """' "> hi"."
:i
334 When the World Shook
nJy^^^'^ *' ^'"^ 1"^ ^'^ <^««sed. Somehow I could
other l5s.^' ^ ' '° •"'" ''"' ^'°^^*^ "^""^ ^PO''^" by
outTo';?,Tnr.!!''^ '^* P'^^Se that she had pointed
out to us, and began a most terrible journey which so
trme*'toTkr'1^"f«^^' ^°;"« '^'^^ «"y ex7ct couni fi
time, took us about sixty hours. The road, it is true
obZJtnn,i?P"l- ^ "'"*='' ^ ^hat often we were
obhged to pull each other up it and lie down to rest.
T if™i,"°/ ''"" ^"^ '•'"^ '^""g^' felt-covered bottles of
fhl^ u 'J *"?. ^"""^ ^e should never have won
through. But this marvellous elixir, drunk a littk at
fo^«h nr^Af*"'"^'^^'^'^'^ "^ ^"'l g^^e "s strength
wa^?omHeL^''T°"*' ^°L *''" '^^'^""^'^ '" ^^at tunnel
U^K ^ Tommy became so exhausted that at
Zfu TT^^ carry him by turns. He would have
died had It not been for the water; indeed I thought
that he was going to die. ®
«»^i^".°"u ^^^* ■■"* ^"'^ ^ ^^"'^ s'eep, however, he
™?K- ^^^u" *** '*'=°^*''' *"'• generally there was
something in his manner which suggested to us that
^.r.h"7 ^"^J"*" 'J? ''^ "<^t far from the surface of the
earth towards which we had crawled upwards for
m«tf -HP"" thousands of feet, fortunately without
meeting with any zone of heat which was not bearable.
We were right, for when we had staggered forward
a little further, suddenly Tommy ran ahead of us and
van^hed. Then we heard him barking but where we
could not see, since the tunnel appeared to take a turn
and continue, but this time on a downward course,
while the sound of the barks came from our right. We
searched with the lanterns which were now beginning
nJll Z *'r'* Mi^^^ ^°^^ ^'•"''S' fi"ed witS fallen
hl„T U^^- ^^ ^°°P^'' *h«se away with our
hands, making an aperture large enough to creep
through A few more yards and we saw light, the
blessed hght of the moon, and in it stood Tommy bark-
ing hoarsely. Next we heard the sound of the sea. We
Tommy
335
Down this we rolled and scrambled" f TS ^"'"^''y-
at last lying upon a sandv hf ^ V P ^"'^ ourselves
full moo^n sWe VthThlL;;„^f ' *'"^' ^'^°^« "« «he
selves' dowT and s'l^ °' '''^"''^"'"«««. we flung our-
further" atong"l^^"„l7 Tommy and we had gone
stretched on iJSth the L iJ f""' !!"'« ^"^t
we have slept that nighf? ' ^^'^' ' *°"*le'-. should
heaSJs" "EvrdStlJ'tLrhaT.^''"'"^ '^'^'^ '" 'he
dawn, though Swe^ were Iv^n ^^'" 'f'" '""^^"^^ 'he
some broad?lea^d tre^ fro^ .^ '^"If^'j '^^ ^^^^'^' o(
inconvenience Oh ! how h«.,f'^f ^^'^ ""^^^d ''"le
in those unholy caves Zefc "'" f^l °"'" «>J°""
sweet air and the rai;.dronVh " ^"'^ ^^^ ««* «nd the
We did not wlkl „?Pf ''^"g'ng on the leaves.
been left alone I Im Lrl that'Sr^'h' "?^l^^ '^ *« ^ad
clock round, for we were terrfhl^ should have slept the
us was theXtter of a 2owd^nfn"f^^ What woke
gathered at a distance from rhp,°^^"5"^ ^''o were
starinff at us inTfrfrrhr ^ ^ ""^ ^"^ engaged in
Tomm^y who oLcted^to th'i^?' ^'^° theHrks of
people^I recogXrou^old wl"„7tr^^'"?^ '^'
by his feather^cloak, and sitting unt.l'''*'L^"?'"*
to approach. After a Prvid hIoF V^k' ''.^ckpned to him
walkilig delicatel7 ikeTglf an?ij^^"^*'°" he '^^^'
to time to study us asthnu'crhu ^'°PP'"& from time
we were real.^ ' ""^'^ ^e were not sure that
''^ouVg&Z 'oi^f^'^T'"' -ked him.
did you andffe Healer and he £r-'''^^^"- Whence
do your faces look likl fhl r ^1'°^" '=0'"e and why
shJre. Al.^^wr^^;S,'-<>poS^y.Po-''e
r-
.'1
. FN
336 When the World Shook
;;Why not?" I asked idly,
"Come and see," he answered.
Rising stiffly we emerged from beneath the tree an
perceived that we were at the foot of the clifif again-
which the remains of the yacht had been borne by th
great tempest. Indeed there it was within a couple o
liundred yards of us.
Following Marama we climbed the sloping patl
which ran up the cliff and ascended a knoll whence w,
could see the lake and the cone of the volcano in if
centre. At least we used to be able to see this cone, bu
now, at any rate with the naked eye, we could make ou
waieJs^ofThe Uke. '''°^" ^^' '" '^' "'^^ °^ '^'
c,«,'3*^l-Tu"**'"..^'^''='' '^^ "P many feet in thai
storm which brought you to Orofena, Friend-from-the
Sea, has ?ow sunt till only the very top of it is to be
seen, said Marama solemnly. "Even the Rock of
Offerings has vanished beneath the water, and with it
tlie house that we built for you "
did JaTippfn?" ''"''^'"^ "° ""'P"^^' "^"^ ^^-
"Five nights ago the world shook, Friend-from-the-
bea, and when the sun rose we saw that the mouth of
h/hT^- K i'^'' appeared on the day of your coming,
had vanished, and that the holy mountain itself had
the wate?"*' "°^ °"'^ ^^^ '^'^^*- °^ '* '^ '®^* ^^^"^
."v"'^'^iM"&^ happen," I replied carelessly.
vol« th ^' .P"end-from-the-Sea. Like many other mar- 1
vels they happen where you and your companions are.
Therefore we beg you who can arise out of the earth
like spirits, to leave us at once before our island and all
of us who dwell thereon are drowned beneath the ocean.
Leave us before we kill you, if indeed you be men, or
die at your hands if, as we think, you be evil spirits who
can throw up mountains and drag them down, and
tSrwofid " ''' ^"*^ "'°''* *''°"^ '" ^^^ ^°^^^^ °'
"That is our intention, for our business here
Tommy
for we must victual ouFboat " ^ " '" P'^"*^'
Indeed'S tSem"'fof ""'^ ^""^ "^^^^^^^^ orders,
already hS San offlri,?^ °"!i ™."'«diate needs was
fulnesj. ^" °'^"'"«^' *"'• °^ " «e ate with thank-
boaJ^'^'Thank^f''^"'^ *^^ "'^'P ^''^J e^'amined the life-
whence wSaremeiedTom"?h5f ** '•? «"'' "^« '^o'e
of the cliff. ^""^'gea from the tunnel on to the face
the''cL'Ti'^colTr?d^rh^""'"f '^'•^ ''^^'•-'y of
heavy rain" hT ^^th^ef a^^flf J^^^^ljl -<^''"'
the brLze began to blow I'retuLrt"'^^- J^^" «''
here bade adieu to mTJI, returned to the boat and
cloak as a farewen gYfr • ''''° ^"''" *"« ^is feather
"wL^^e'^'dad f„"?."^-^™'"-*'''-S««." he said to me.
shouSfBa^rn!"'" ^" '''^^ ^ '^-^ '-ght you."
338 When the World Shook
thp^f h'^A^'^'T^'^,' ^^"""^^ ^''^'her at the mention 01
min^M ^^°' o^*l'o«« powers the Orofenans had «
fnlJi ^ '^'=°"^'="on. or at the result of Bastin's teaci ■
ings, I do not know. And that was the last we shall
ever see of each other in this world,
nf lii'Mf'!"'' ^aded behind us and, sore at heart because
of all that we had found and lost again, for three
days we sailed northwards with a fair and steady wind
Un the fourth evening by an extraordinary stroke of
fortune, we fell in with an American tramp steamer
To th? I'^T -^^ ^r'*> ^'^ ^«'^"'1« »° San Fran^bco:
io the captain, who treated us very kindly, we said
simply that we were a party of Englishmen whose yacht
had been wrecked on a small island several hundreds of
miles away, of which we knew neither the name, if it
had one, nor the position.
thJ^^^r^lZ^ h'""^ accepted without question, for such
things often happen in those latitudes, and in due
course we were landed at San Francisco, where we
made certain depositions before the British Consul as
croi^nT °^'h« y^«;ht Star of the South. Then w
Unked Stafe^^ '" ^ "'""" ^^^'"^ *''" ^^^ °^ ^^e
Of the great war which made this desirable I do not
speak since it has nothing, or rather little, to do wiH,
this history In the end we arrived safelv at Liverpool,
and thence travelled to our homes in Devonshire.
Thus ended the history of our dealin^o with Ore,
the super-man who began his life more than two hu":
Sht?r v'^ thou.sand years ago, and with
daughter, Yva, whom Bastin still often
Glittering Lady.
calls
his
the
CHAPTER XXVII
BASTIN DISCOVERS A RESEMBLANCE
There is little more to tell.
departed in Ihe „„i(„„ o( "hf R A Mr rT' "f
men that had been brokpn in vt ^ °^ '"^ country-
to one like his in wS it wl, '°."""°" ??"^' '^an
them with vain words °"'y P^^'^^'^ ^o Pe't
Baj;il°""?^e"lt Itold^'LrT'-^.i'^'''^^'^" -«-"«rf
than bodiesrbecause aseven 1." '^mT '° ^^^^ ««"'«
there in Or^fenanhe/Ur^ZcrLt?..'^^^"^^ -'
sort -J ^Td Bick?e?r "o^'elei IhrSo^"^^'^'"^ "^ ^'^'^
an ordinary old man Hp «iH ♦? ° ^^l^ore than
thousand yLrs,brwhatw^SpJ^ ^^ H'* "^^^ «
his word, ihich is"lorth*n"^ing5''*° "^^^ '"'^ ^'^'^^P'
woJi^rerdeltEX"^.^^" "^^'^ ^'"' ^^'^''^'^ '«
Furthe^as' acSrdinf to'h" oTHh' '^^"n'"^ -«>"-
quite young, how coflJ^trC; he°"Xt ^^9^'"
that ?hr;-oA'K.e^^et fafVSdU
=;iorairftor i« -r^unrd^ri
you w/ll admit tiat theThateh'Il ^"."'"^ ^''^^ ^^^e
and fifty thousand yS." '^ ^° ''""^^^^
339
.1'
■ N
t;5
340 When the World Shook
"I admit that they slept, Bastin, because I helped
to awaken them, but for how long there is nothing to
show, except those star maps which are probably quite
maccurate."
"Jhey are not inaccurate," I broice in, "for I have
had them checked by leading astronomers who say that
they show a marvellous knowledge of the heavens as
these were two hundred and fifty thousand years aeo.
and are to-day." ■> s, >
Here I should state that those two metal maps and
the ring which I gave to Yva and found again after the
catastrophe, were absolutely the only things connected
with her or with Oro that we brought away with us.
The former I would never part with, feeling their value
as evidence. Therefore, when we descended to the city
Nyo and the depths beneath, I took them with me
wrapped in cloth in my pocket. Thus they were pre-
served. Everything else went when the Rock of Offer-
ings and the cave mouth sank beneath the waters of
the lake.
This may h,we happened either in the earth tremor,
which no doubt was caused by the advance of the terrific
world-balance, or when the electric power, though
diffused and turned by Yva's insulated body, struck the
great gyroscope's travelling foot with sufficient strength,
not to shift it indeed on to the right-hand path as Oro
had designed, but still to cause it to stagger and even
perhaps to halt for the fraction of a second. Even this
pause may have been enough to cause convulsions of
the earth above; indeed, I gathered from Marama
and other Orofenans that such convulsions had oc-
curred on and around the island at what must have
corresponded with that moment of the loosing of the
force.
This loss of our belongings in the house of the Rock
of Offerings was the more grievous because among
them were some Kodak photographs which I had taken,
including portraits of Oro and one of Yva that was
really excellent, to say nothing of pictures of the mouth
of the cave and of the ruins and crater lake above. How
Bastin Discovers a Resemblance 341
£ »fpickT;U\tXr,J5-p these photographs
nothing," ^IdmS'^Tr, ^"^ '""'Jr' «'» it proves
cal skifi'mSht Ke^naW^'hiS^f H^ °'?'^ astro'l.om'!
ceive\;^'\.5KL"^w^ork^'rL^ ""^^^ *° ^-
to check them," I said "But^f^^h^'' knowledge even
Bickley. However lone thev hL' f ""^u^" ^^ Po^"'-
woman did arise froS leX Satt'^Vh'''' J??'!.^"^
iart^^livEt!;;^ -JXyl S eS^f e^^r
that the^r SS a" d airb%?nd1,^''"^'^"°'' -^""d-'t
To that extent I am ronv^^Ji"'"^"/°"'P^«''e"sion.
humbled." said Bickle^ converted, and, I may add,
tha;]Wwr;s^t:^''t^^:;T£r^'' ^^^^"' "--^
worl/that is n^ot caAVSfaX^- ^Si^^e
if only'w'e'SdlJte; ■'.'■■"^^ ""^^ ^ ^P-ble, Bastin,
the Ud^Yva'diSf'F^av Lfr '° ^°" ^P'^" -"at
manded me to concea S^L t Jf" now what she com-
came a Christian;^ mSch.n^h'.Tl'^'' *''^' ^^e be-
baptised and confirmed^her on th^' ^^ ^^' "^» ^i". I
sacrifice. Doub?le™1t wl' °his ^^7.'?: "'°'TJ °^ ^er
so much that she became wiMnV * "^^"S'^d her heart
knowledge, to iMve ^vTrvSi^^ch ^ """"i^. ^''''°"t my
looked hlrd at me "and Jv f ' l^^V""'" h"e he
world, half of which she Llr"*"' "^^ *° ^^« the
drowned by Oro Now .J^ 7^ "^ ^^°"t to be
"Pbringingf rc^^i thTsTspSatmafvil" '''^"^^ «"^
than any you now admit /„-V marvel, nn-ch greater
BickW." ^ ^ ^*^'""' ^"'J 0"e y"- can't explain.
,1'
=0
34a When the World Shook
she believed, or did not believe, and whatever would 01
would not have happened, she was a great and woncler-
ful woman whose memory I worship."
"Quite so, Bickley, and now perhaps you see my
pomt, that what you describe as mere vain words may
also be helpful to mankind ; more so, indeed, than your
surgical instruments and pills."
"You couldn't convert Oro, anyway," exclaimed
Bickley, with irritation.
"No, Bickley; but then I have always understood
that the devil is beyond conversion because he is beyond
repentance. You see, I think that if that old scoundrel
was not the devil himself, at any rate he was a bit of
him, and, if I am right, I am not ashamed to have failed
in his case." ,
"Even Oro was not utterly bad, Ba.' in," I said,
reflecting on certain traits of mercy that he had shown,
or that I dreamed him to have shown in the course of
our mysterious midnight journeys to various parts of
^e earth. Also I remembered that he had loved
Tommy and for his sake had spared our lives. Lastly,
I do not altogether wonder that he came to certain hasty
conclusions as to the value of our modern civilisations.
"I am very glad to hear it, Humphrey, since while
there is a spark left the whole fire may burn up again,
and I believe that to the Divine mercy there are no
limits, though Oro will have a long road to travel before
he finds it. And now I have something to say. It has
troubled me very much that I was obliged to leave tliose
Orofenans wandering in a kind of religious twilight."
"You couldn't help that," said Bickley, "seeing that
if you had stopped, by now you would have been
wandering in religious light."
"Still, I am not sure that 1 ought not to have
stopped. I seem to have deserted a field that was open
to me. However, it can't be helped, since it is certain
that we could never find that island again, even if Ore
has not sunk it beneath the sea, as he is quite capable
of doing, to cover his tracks, so to speak. So I mean to
do my best in another field by way of atonement."
Ill
Bastin Discovers a Resemblance 343
said/**" "* "°' 8^°'"« »0 become a missionary?" 1
thinL^'bilievesThatmv/r'^"' °' '^' «'«»«'?. *ho, I
than 'l dTS't' doVbtTas^^r c'r ^'" iS^ "f^"'
volunteered for the Front =„Iii,' '' '°°' have
chaplain to the'.cst D^v^lSn!^'' '^•^" »"«P'^<^ «« «
Why that's mine I " said Bickley.
io pursue our ^a^^. f J" u'nfjr "T ^^ '^'>^" ''^ ^b'«
open each othe^Sd^'?"'"'"'^ ^"'' '° *'° °"' best to
mar'kS" ••i'XTolS 'r^hTn"'^" ' «-•" ' ^^
me, even as a Tommy Su.h V'' -^ *°^''^"'' ^''^
They told me «r 7, i^' f"hough I misstated my aee.
afte^I?S,"?hkt° h?ir f K'rLTd ! "^ r
sorcerer's boy " ^ '^ "ead from that
been sugeested to Z k„ , 1/.'^°"?^ °^ action has
authoritf^^ ^^ ''^ ^" °^** ^"«"d *ho is now in
s can ine soul, of the sitter. He stared at it for a
I' i
•t •«
'A
344 When the World Shook
ASl/hn')!,"'!"^'"'*'''^.**^' «''««id ' "Do you know
Arbuthnot, It has sometimes occurred to me, and neve
SlJ,^ if'- 'u"* moment, that although they wen
differen m heieht and so on, there was a really curioui
La^' Yva"^^ ^'^^ between your late wife and th.
"XfV* I answered. " I think so too."
n„/«'f k!^^-5^ examined the portrait very carefully
and as he did so I saw him start. Then he turned away,
saying nothing. ''
Such is the summary of all that has been importani
m my ife. It is, I admit, an odd story and one which
suggests problems that I cannot solve. Bastin deals
with such things by that acceptance which is the
?.l)lf^%'""^ hal-mark of faith; Bickley disposes, or
used to dispose, of them by a blank denial which carries
no conviction, and least of all to himself.
What is life to most of us who, like Bickley, think
ourselves learned? A round, short but still with time
and to spare wherein to be dull and lonesome; a fateful
treadmill to which we were condemned we know not
how, but apparently through the casual passions of
those who went before us and are now forgotten, caus-
mg us, as the Bible says, to be born in sin; up which
we walk wearily we know not why, seeming never to
make progress; ofiF which we fall outworn we know not
when or whither.
Such upon the surface it appears to be, nor in fact
does our ascertained knowledge, as Bickley would sum
it up, take us much further. No prophet has yet arisen
who attempted to define either the origin or the reasons
of life. Even the very Greatest of them Himself is quite
silent on this matter. We are tempted to wonder why.
is It because life as expressed in the higher of human
beings, IS, or will be too vast, too multiform and too
glorious for any definition which we could understand?
Is It because in the end it will involve for some, if not for
all, majesty on unfathomed majesty, and glory upon
unimaginable glory such as at present far outpass the
limits of our thought?
Bastin Discovers a Resemblance 345
awaS'inTJ'!""' *!!'*^'' ^ '"'^« ''^ordtd in these oaees
constellatUsr» to siak or'"?„''''' "" 1°' ''''"'' '"
measures of iur own small «^k" '^"f' ''"' ''^ '^e
thereon. We cannof ^1 ^^ *"** "' °"' '«^ days
stretching over ""„ on?tfc„«!I^'''^' °^ ''" «'''««^"«
which 0?o claimed and the rIS?^ ^''*'!,' ^'"'^ ^ ""at
early race of m«. omiftii^ f ''''' *'^*?r*''' ^° « ««a'n
five hundred cTntilrreT^Sl"' T"!!'* '"'' ♦*» thousand
one grain in Shour-i„« ?'♦• ^" '^''** '^ ""* •»«
record of iur earth gTsliiZ'th"' t^ '" '"^ "»»
father the sun tn i=,V !L" ^''^ planets and its
beyond? ' '° ""^ "°''""e of the universes
the marvel of her love aSd ^^'"^'^ ^'''' ^^^ ''"^
which arise also But thet kefn'T "''""^•'n'?"''
concern the wonder of woman's '^^^'"^'ku T^^y
microcosm of the horJe ^^ai J^.' ^^"^^ '» a
spaijs ofThis humat^'SSr^^Kf ftm '^ ^"^ ''^-
she is the mother. wnereof from age to age
Humphrey Arbutiinot.
' r6
NOTE
By J. R. BICKLEY, M.R.C.S.
Within about six months of the date on which he wrote
the last words of th.s history of -.r joint adventures, my
ThLt*^' "H["P''«y ArbutKiot, died suddenly, as
I had foreseen that probably he would uo, from the re-
suits of the injury he received in the island of Orofena.
h- i- i i '?-^ '"^ ^'* executor to his will, under which
He divided his property into three parts. One third he
beoueathed to me, one third (which is strictly tied up)
to Bastin, and one third to be devoted, under my direc-
tion, to the advancement of Science.
. His end appears to have been instantaneous, result-
ing from an effusion of blood upon the brain. When I
WM summoned I found him Iving dead by the writing
desk in his library at Fulcombe Priory. He had been
writing at the desk, for on it was a piece of paper on
which appear these words: «/ have seen fc«r. ?- "
i here the writing ends, not stating whom he thought
he had seen in the moments of mental disturbance or
delusion which preceded his decease.
Save for certain verbal corrections, I publish this
manuscript without comment as the will directs, only
adding that It sets out our mutual experiences very faith-
fully, though Arbuthnofs deductions from them are not
always my own.
I would say also that I am contemplating another
visit to the South Sea Islands, where I wish to make
some further investigations. I dare say, however, that
these will be barren of results, as the fountain of Life-
water IS buried for ever, nor, as I think, will any human
being stand again in the Hades-like halls of Nyo. It is
probable also that it would prove impossible to re-
346
Note 347
connection with missionary enterprise ^
J. R. BiCKLEY.
t" S'AiSSs s? ,?r„;5 S'isT "^ "■' '^^
J. R. B.
pRrSTRO PIT
asariL ft CoMPANT. LmiTi-D. La Bblli S*ovACt.
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